Layers
by apinchofushyn
Summary: Pompeii, 79 AD. Honoka's a boy in love with Umi, a girl from a noble family. Kotori, princess of the current King, was unfortunately in love with Umi. One day, the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius destroyed the whole town. Now, reincarnated in the present, Umi starts to have reoccurring dreams about her past life as she struggles with her past and present love.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello :D

I got this idea recently when I was in one of my school lectures. I was learning about Plate Tectonics and about Volcanoes - how they're formed and the effects of it and for one of our assignments, I had to research on Mt. Vesuvius. I found out that in 79 AD, the volcanic eruption was so devastating that the whole town/city of Pompeii and Herculaneum was destroyed and buried. And hence, the birth of my idea for this fanfic.

I had another story plot in mind for UmiXKotori but this idea was constantly bugging my mind so i just had to write it down. I have no idea how well this would go so bear with me :)

If there's any grammatical errors and whatnot, I sincerely apologise.

Also, I don't own Love Live! so yea :)

* * *

_Prologue – Italy, Pompeii, 79 AD _

"Hey, Honoka. Don't you wish this moment would never end?" a blue-haired girl said softly as she leaned against the shoulder of a ginger-haired boy.

"Me too. I'd love to spend this moment forever with you," Honoka smiled as he leaned in and kissed the girl's cheeks.

The girl blushed cutely and squeezed his hand tightly.

The both of them were contented for now.

Spending time like this was all they ever wanted. They could also temporary forget about family obligations and the conflict between the two powerful families in the town.

As the couple sat side by side on the meadow fields, they watched the sun set. The sky had started to darken slightly, the pink and orange streaks in the sky disappearing slowly to the other side of the Earth.

"I love you, Honoka," the girl smiled lovingly as she snuggled against the ginger-haired boy.

"I love you too, Umi-chan," the boy smiled back warmly.

* * *

_1 – Present day, Modern Japan. _

_She was running._

Honoka.

The thought of him kept her running.

Please let him be safe, she thought fervently as she pushed through the throngs of people. It was a miracle that a girl like her was able to shove through the mass of people who were also pushing and shoving around, running for their lives.

Suddenly, the whole earth shook violently. Losing her balance, she stumbled and fell onto the ground clumsily. The buildings surrounding her began fall apart due to the sheer force of the shaking of the ground.

A loud rumble could be heard from a distance and she gritted her teeth, scrambling up from the unstable ground.

I have to find Honoka.

She was deathly worried about him. She had no idea where he was but if she has to guess, there's a possibility that he might be at the field near the King's Castle.

Taking a deep breath, she continued running. Unfortunately, another loud rumbling echoed throughout the town and the buildings beside her started to crumble mercilessly. Before she could even react, a shadow loomed over her.

She looked up and her eyes widened, just in time to see a huge piece of debris falling straight for her.

Sonoda Umi woke up gasping for breath, her heartbeat racing quickly as she tried to calm herself down.

"It was just a dream...just a dream..." She tried to console herself as she shivered slightly.

"I wonder how many times I've had this dream already..." The bluenette muttered to herself.

Ever since she'd formed μ's with her two childhood friends, Kousaka Honoka and Minami Kotori, Umi had constantly had this dream every night. The first few weeks, she'd woken up screaming, covered in sweat.

It was getting less and less scary now but it still unsettled her whenever the dreams came back. She had no idea why she kept having this same dream. Neither did she know why she referred her childhood friend, Honoka as a "he".

The bluenete sighed as she rubbed her palm against her throbbing forehead. Looking at the time, she realized it was only 5am in the morning.

It was still too early for usual morning practice near the shrine where her senior, Tojo Nozomi helped out at. She sighed again. _It's not like I could go back to sleep now. _

She decided to take a quick shower first before slowly making her way to the usual shrine where they practiced their dance moves and go about their daily run up and down the stairs.

By the time she reached the shrine, she could already spot Nozomi gracefully sweeping the fallen leaves outside the shrine into a pile.

"Good Morning, Nozomi!" Umi greeted the purple-haired girl tiredly.

"'Mornin'! ...Wait…Umi-chan?" Nozomi looked at the bluenete in surprise. "Why are you here so early?"

Umi grimaced, preferring not to say anything. Nozomi, taking the hint, smiled and said, "Anyway, I don't think the rest of the girls would come here so early, given that it's only 6am in the morning."

"It's okay," Umi said, "I'll just sit here for a while."

Umi proceeded to the steps of the stairs leading up to the shrine and leaned against the railing. Unconsciously, she started to doze off.

Seeing the tired look on the bluenete's face, Nozomi couldn't help but worry about her second year junior. She wondered what happened but didn't had the heart to ask after seeing the grim and defeated look on her friend's face just now.

Nonetheless, Umi had fallen asleep and that made the purple head wonder if the younger girl had trouble sleeping.

An hour later, Nozomi had finally finished her duty and was putting her broom away when two members of μ's arrived together. They were about to call out to Nozomi but Nozomi immediately put her index finger on her lips and shushed them, pointing at the still sleeping Umi.

Honoka immediately covered her mouth, nodding slightly while Kotori just smiled at the sleeping girl.

Both girls walked towards Umi quietly.

_She's so cute. _Kotori thought as she quietly observed her childhood friend who didn't seem to be waking anytime soon. _She looks so beautiful too…If only I could press my lips onto hers… _Kotori's thoughts trailed off and she immediately blushed.

Seeing her friend's face reddened, Honoka asked, "What's wrong, Kotori-chan?"

"N-Nothing." Kotori denied quickly, inwardly cursing herself. _Ugh. I shouldn't be thinking such stuff. I can't let anyone find out that I have such feelings for my best friend, especially so since she's a girl. _

Shaking her head mentally, Kotori turned to look at the ginger-haired girl who was also quietly observing Umi. She'd never seen such a tender and soft look on Honoka's face before. Her eyes seemed to soften a little when Umi mumbled something inaudible in her sleep. The look that Honoka was giving Umi was caring and compassionate that it was almost loving.

It was then a realisation dawned upon her. That realisation made her heart lurch and a dull ache had settled in her chest.

Honoka was in love with Umi too.

* * *

Wohoo. There goes the first chapter :) (even though it's pretty short)

I was debating between Herculaneum and Pompeii but chose Pompeii in the end since the name is shorter and it is more prominent...I think.

Anyways, if there's anyone reading this, look forward to the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello :D Anyway, this is the current plot so don't get confused! Presently, both Kotori and Honoka are in love with Umi. Umi seems to be falling for Honoka, in lieu with their previous life, whereby Umi and Honoka, who's a guy, were together. All that's left is for Umi to choose between Honoka and Kotori. Confusing? Nope, not really XD. I'm trying to work out how to pull other pairings in without making the plot too complicated to follow...so yea.

Oh yeah, Reviews are appreciated! :)

* * *

_2_

People often scoff at the thought of reincarnation.

"That's just a belief stemmed from Buddhism right?"

That's what everyone would say when she tried telling people that reincarnation was not just a mere belief. At least, not in Minami Kotori's case.

She didn't know any other word to describe what it was except maybe the words "Beginning a new life".

She hadn't thought it was possible at first. But after putting one and three together when she was in middle school, she realised that she was the epitome of reincarnation, or rather, a reincarnated person.

For as long as she could remember, she had had memories of her past life in a certain city town but she couldn't figure out where it was. Nor did she know the cause of her apparent death. She recalled that she was the princess of the current King and there seemed to be a conflict between her family and anther family who's competing for the throne.

One would think that it's pretty "cool" to retain the memories of your past life but that wasn't the case for Kotori.

Back in her past life, she'd known most of the members of μ's. Honoka and Umi were no exception. They were childhood friends even though all three of them were from different lineages. Unfortunately, history seemed to have repeated itself. Back then, she was also in love with the blue haired girl and Honoka, who was a boy, (She still didn't understand why Honoka's a girl now) had gotten together with Umi.

Imagine the inner turmoil in the greyish-brown-haired girl now.

Oh, Kotori was confused and troubled in the beginning when she discovered her feelings for her childhood friend. But as the memories of her past life gets stronger, her love for the other girl grew stronger as well.

Often she wondered if she hadn't had these memories, would things change? Would she still fall in love with her best friend? The answer had come immediately to her.

No. She would still fall for Umi even without having past memories of her falling for her best friend.

Now that she realised that Honoka is in love with Umi, it brought another set of problems.

Is Umi better suited for Honoka?

Or rather, is Honoka better suited for Umi?

Would Umi like Honoka more?

That thought only served to depress the girl more.

The insecurity had stemmed from the past memories she had. In their previous lives, Honoka's feelings were reciprocated. Kotori knew that she shouldn't be so pessimistic but she couldn't help but feel that she was going to be heartbroken again.

Furthermore, even though Honoka's a female now, it still doesn't change the fact that she was a boy in their previous life. The attraction certainly wasn't unnatural. Unlike hers.

Ever since she was young, Kotori have been captivated by the shy and quiet blue-haired girl. She often had dreams and fantasies of her – she didn't know that they were just her past memories then – and didn't realise that a girl falling for another girl was unnatural until she was in middle school.

Ever since she discovered her true feelings for her best friend, she'd painstakingly hidden the forbidden feelings deep inside her.

It was only recently that her feelings started to become too much for her. The overflowing love she felt for the other girl made her heart ache whenever she saw her.

She didn't know what to do anymore.

Of course, she couldn't tell anyone about all of these. Not only was the love she had for Umi unnatural and sinful, no one else knew that she'd retained memories of her past life.

Not even Honoka.

Not even Umi.

* * *

_"Hey, Umi-chan." _

_"Yes?" The bluenete muttered absently. _

_"Do you wanna hang out?" Honoka finally worked up the courage to ask his beautiful childhood friend._

_"Mmm…Sure," Umi said, "What about Kotori?" _

_"W-Well…" Honoka stuttered a little. _

_Umi blinked, and smiled as understanding crossed her mind, "Just the two of us huh?" she smirked. _

_Honoka blushed lightly and looked away. _

_How cute. Umi thought to herself as she looked at him. She hadn't realised it at first but now that had taken a closer look at him, the ginger- haired boy had grown. Not just in terms of physical height. Sure, he's taller now but his shoulders are broader and his hair was longer than before as well. He'd combed his hair back, styling it to give it a more "wild" and "cool" look as the ends of his hair stuck out a little, the tail of his hair reached further down his neck, almost reaching the shoulder. His sapphire blue eyes were still the same as ever, so deep that it could almost suck her down to the depths of the ocean. Her eyes slowly drifted down to his nose before it stopped at his lips. His lips. Soft looking lips. For a second, she wondered how it would feel like to press her lips against the ginger-haired boy's lips. If only – _

_"Umi-chan…?" _

_Umi snapped out of her thoughts immediately and it was her turn to blush when Honoka had caught her staring at his lips. _

_"W-We should get going then. The day is short." Umi said hastily as she started to walk away from Honoka, trying to shake off her embarrassment. What was that? Why did I…? Umi was starting to get a little confused. _

_"Yea, you're right." The boy decided as he ran to Umi's side, catching up to her, the ends of his mouth curled into a smile as he secretly thought, Maybe I shouldn't have interrupted her…_

_"Where are we going?" Umi asked, shaking her head mentally, trying to drive the image of Honoka's lips away from her mind. _

_Honoka pondered for a while, "I don't know…How about we just take a walk down the field near the castle and just spend time together?"_

_"Sounds like a plan," Umi said teasingly, nudging the boy._

_The ginger-haired boy started to smirk and said, "Should we get going then?"_

_"Lead the way." _

"Umi-chan, Umi-chan!" a loud and familiar voice called out.

Umi mumbled something incoherently under her breath, trying to ignore the loud voice that was currently preventing her from her beauty sleep. For once, she was having a rather peaceful and nice dream.

"Hey, Umi-chan! Wake up! The rest would be here in a few minutes!" the voice persisted on.

Irritated, the bluenete opened her eyes slowly, only to look directly into someone's sapphire blue orbs.

Her eyes widened in shock as she immediately scurried backwards with a squeal, her face for some reason, reddened considerably.

"H-Honoka?" Umi stammered. _Why's her f-face so up close…?_

"You finally woke up." The ginger-haired girl stated, "We didn't want to disturb you since you looked like you were really tired but…" the girl trailed off and shrugged apologetically.

"I-It's fine…" Umi stuttered, still reeling in shock. _Why am I stuttering? _

"You…okay?" Honoka frowned slightly, "Your face is red. Did you catch a fever or cold?"

"N-No." Umi said, avoiding Honoka's gaze. _Why am I avoiding her eyes? _

Suddenly, she remembered. She remembered her dream. She remembered the entrancing sapphire blue eyes…

"Umi-chan, what's wrong?" Honoka tried again, when she saw that her childhood friend was now frozen at the spot, her face flushed.

"N-Nothing." Umi muttered quickly. Too quickly. Her heart started to beat quicker for reasons, unknown to her. Nonetheless, sensing that the other girl didn't want to let her know, Honoka stopped asking. Instead, she walked up towards the bluenete and extended her hand out.

Hesitantly at first, Umi reached out and Honoka grabbed her hand.

_Her hand is so warm…_Umi thought unconsciously as she let her best friend pull her up from the ground.

On the other hand, Kotori was silently watching the exchange between the two, her heart felt as if it was being stabbed by a knife. She saw how Umi was reacting weirdly towards Honoka and also noticed that Umi was blushing more than usual. Sure, Umi was often embarrassed but this time, Kotori felt that the blush was different than usual. It felt more of a blush after seeing or being with one's crush. She also noticed the look that Umi was giving Honoka. Whether she knew it or not, Umi was staring intently into Honoka's eyes when the ginger-haired offered her hand to help her up, as if mesmerised by the depth of the other girl's blue eyes.

She couldn't describe with words the hollowness and emptiness she was feeling inside of her. All she knew was that she had to control herself and bury the feelings deep inside her. She can never let anyone know about her feelings and she wouldn't want it to affect club activities as well.

Unbeknownst to Kotori, there was someone else watching her watching the whole exchange between the two girls in front of her. Nozomi sighed inwardly and shook her head slightly.

_This might get messy._ The purple head thought as she saw the hurt and pained look in Kotori's eyes. It broke her heart to see the always lively and cheerful Kotori being hurt and resigned. She would have to talk to the younger girl later, she decided.

Fortunately, a shout broke Kotori's depressing thoughts.

"Hey, guys! Sorry we're a little late!"

All four girls including Nozomi, turned around and saw the rest of the μ's waving at them. Eri was the one who was shouting just now.

Taking in an agonised and deep breath, Kotori put up an invisible mask as she smiled brightly at them, "Good Morning, guys!"

* * *

A/N: Chapter two done!

Major Mike Powell III: Thanks~ :) Hope that this chapter gives you an idea what's gonna happen for the next few chapters. Umi's gonna dream more drea- oops. I mean, dream about her past life more often and it would be terrible if a memory suddenly seize her all of the sudden right? ;) I have no idea how good or bad this would turn out so yea :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Chapter 3 :)

* * *

_3_

_"Can I kiss you?" the boy boldly asked the girl in front of her. _

_The girl's face turned scarlet red as she stuttered, "W-W-What?"_

_"May I kiss you?" the boy repeated, now smiling. He thought that the girl was especially cute when she was blushing. The ginger-haired boy reached out his hand slowly and touched the blue-haired girl's cheek gently. The bluenete's face turned into an even deeper shade of red. _

_Shyly and feeling a little embarrassed, Umi nodded as she averted her gaze._

_Honoka grinned before cupping the bluenete's face. Slowly, he placed a soft and gentle kiss on the girl's lips. Immediately after that, he pulled away, licking his lips. He liked the feel of his lips on the girl's. _

_He stared into the mocha brown eyes, waiting for the bluenete's reaction. _

_At first, the bluenete's eyes widened slightly before it closed, enjoying the one or two seconds of his lips on hers. When Honoka pulled away, she was a little dazed, if not a little distracted before a full-blown flush covered her whole face. _

_Liking the effect he obviously had caused the girl, Honoka winked at her childhood friend, making the poor girl's face – he didn't think it could possibly get any redder – burn hotter._

_"Do you like it?" Honoka asked in a low voice. _

_Umi shivered slightly before nodding, not trusting herself to be able to form any coherent words especially after that kiss. And it was only a quick kiss. How it could have such an effect on her was beyond her understanding. _

_"Then…" Honoka trailed off, her voice still as low, "You wouldn't mind me doing this right?" The ginger-haired boy then pressed his lips hardly onto the girl's. He could hear a tiny gasp from the girl but before she could even react, Honoka deepened the kiss as he grabbed the bluenete's shoulders. _

Kousaka Honoka started to blush as she recalled the dream she had in the morning. This wasn't the first time she had had this kind of dreams. She didn't know what those dreams meant, nor did she know why she was a guy in the dream. All she knew was that because of the countless of dreams she had of her and Umi ever since she started high school, she'd started to view the latter differently. She started to notice _things _about her childhood friend which she never had noticed before.

Like how incredibly beautiful the blue-haired girl was. Like how the girl had grown in some areas of her body. Even though the bluenete didn't have the most perfect body shape, it was still beautiful in Honoka's eyes. Often, she'd find herself staring at the other girl unconsciously, getting lost in the sea of thoughts. She just couldn't help but stare at Umi.

She was not as dense as people seemed to think she was. She had realised recently that she was in love with her childhood friend but had no idea what to do with her feelings until now.

She didn't know when it happened, but every time she saw the bluenete, her heart would start pounding against her chest and heat would threaten to rise up to her cheeks.

Sometimes, the dreams she had of Umi were…a little too graphic, causing the ginger-haired girl to turn tomato red when recalled those dreams. To say that she haven't thought of her childhood friend _that way_ was a lie. She tried not to think about them but each time when they were in the changing room, changing into or out of their costumes, her overly imaginative mind would drift off to certain…parts of the bluenete's body…places where she probably shouldn't mention.

To sum it up, she's got the hots for her childhood friend.

Now knowing that she has fallen for the shy and alluring princess, Honoka had decided to act upon her feelings. She had no idea how it was going to turn out but she knew that the bluenete would never turn her away or reject her even if she doesn't return her feelings. She also knew that there was also a possibility that her best friend doesn't "swing that way".

But there are two things you should know about Kousaka Honoka.

One. She was by nature, an optimist who's never afraid to take any risks.

Two. She's also determined. Once her mind set on something, nothing can stop her.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

* * *

After the usual morning practice, the girls had taken a quick shower at the shrine before heading to school.

The girls were all walking by threes and talking amongst themselves. However, three of them were distracted and wasn't paying attention to the conversations.

Umi was still deep in thought, trying to figure out what all her dreams meant.

Kotori was trying hard not to let her emotions show as an internal war raged inside her.

Honoka was working up a plan in order to confess to her childhood friend and getting her to like her back.

"What's with the second-years today?" one of the third-years Yazawa Niko commented curiously, "All three of them seemed to be distracted by something."

"Perhaps it's some project that their class had to do?" the ever innocent Koizumi Hanayo suggested.

"Could be. They all looked troubled. I've never seen them looked so troubled and thoughtful before." Hoshizora Rin interjected.

Nozomi exchanged a glance with Eri. Nozomi could probably guess what's going on in the heads of the three second-years but she was more worried about Kotori and Umi. She knew that Honoka had already realised her feelings for the bluenete and judging by the thoughtful look and how uncharacteristically quiet Honoka was, she had a feeling that the unanimous leader of μ's was planning something.

She was worried about how Honoka's plan would have an effect on Umi since Honoka never held back on anything and more importantly, what it would do Kotori. The greyish-brown-haired girl looked like she could snap or break down any moment.

Seeing the anxious look on the Vice-President's face, Eri patted the purple head's head gently, "Don't worry too much. Let them handle these themselves. If something happens, we'll step in to help them a little."

"Eri-chi…" The purple-haired girl nodded reluctantly and sighed softly. She didn't think that the blonde would notice the love triangle between the three but nonetheless, the President of the Student Council did.

"I don't think that's the case," Maki suddenly said.

Nozomi and Eri looked up at the red head in surprise while the rest looked at her curiously.

With all the attention (mostly) on the first-year, the red haired girl looked a little embarrassed as a tinge of pink spread across her cheeks.

"W-Well, it's just a feeling…" she tried to explain.

The others were about to probe further but was saved by Honoka's sudden exclamation.

"Ah-!"

"What's wrong?" Umi immediately asked worriedly, snapping out of her thoughts.

Honoka turned to look at the bluenete and almost flinched at the sight of her captivating mocha orbs filled with worry.

"N-Nothing." Honoka let out a nervous laugh. The reason why she exclaimed out loud all of the sudden was because she finally thought of the best way to confess and make Umi fall for her.

"Really?" Umi frowned.

"Yep." Honoka grinned.

Umi nodded slowly, but saw the glint in the ginger-haired girl's eyes. Immediately, she knew that the girl was planning something. She wondered what Honoka's planning now but shrugged it off dismissively, thinking that it had nothing to do with her.

When the girls reached the school, they parted ways as they each head for their own classes for homeroom.

* * *

_After school_

"Hey, Umi-chan! Could you help me with math?" Honoka begged the bluenete as the bell rang, signalling the end of school.

Umi looked at ginger-haired girl suspiciously as she narrowed her eyes. Since when did Honoka ask for extra help in _Math? _

"I really need your help! If I fail the next test…" Honoka sighed, "The teacher's gonna come after me again!" The girl pleaded, putting her hands together as if in prayer, head bowed.

At the sight, Umi softened a little and sighed loudly, "I guess I have no choice then."

"Yes!" Honoka started to cheer out happily, earning her a weird look from the blue haired girl. _My plan starts now. _Honoka thought.

_Honoka's being too happy. Something's off. But…I can't tell what. It's a little strange that she's so happy about me tutoring her Math…_ Umi wrecked her brain, trying to think of reasons why Honoka would be so happy but couldn't think of any. She finally gave up and said, "Are we going to the clubroom or the library?"

"Hmm…the library." Honoka seemed to consider for a while before answering.

"Okay then." The bluenete turned to her other childhood friend, who's slowly packing up her things and smiled apologetically, "Kotori…sorry but Honoka and I will be in the library for an hour or two. You go ahead first to the clubroom. We'll catch up with you later."

Kotori looked at the blue haired girl quietly and nodded without saying anything. Surprised that Kotori didn't say anything, she wanted to ask if something was wrong when she saw a pain look flashed across the girl's face. Just as quickly, it was gone, replaced by an unreadable expression.

Worried, Umi decided to voice out her concerns, "Kotori…are you okay?"

Kotori flinched slightly at the sound of Umi's voice and she started to shake her head, "I'm fine."

Umi was pulled away by Honoka before she could ask any further. She'd never seen such a look on Kotori's face before. That flash of pain made her heart ache a little. If Kotori was in pain or experiencing any troubles, she wanted her to confide in her. Kotori had a bad habit of bottling everything up inside her. The more serious the problem is, the more she hid it.

"Hurry, let's go!" Honoka said as she started to drag the blue haired girl out of the classroom.

"W-Wait, Honoka!" Umi tried to protest but it fell to deaf ears. Honoka refused to let go of the other girl until they reached their destination.

They found a rather secluded corner in the library to study. Pulling out her textbooks and notes, Umi started to say to the other girl who was sitting opposite of her, "Where do you want me to start?"

"The topics that would be tested for the upcoming test."

"Differentiation and Integration?" Umi asked.

Honoka shrugged, "So that's what it's called. I've been wondering what the topic was for quite some time…"

Umi sighed inwardly. This was going to be a long session.

An hour later, Honoka was already spent. Her hands and face lay flat on the cold table, Honoka muttered under her breath, "I can't take this anymore…"

"Can't take what?"

Honoka jerked up and said, "I can't take Math anymore. It's so hard. It feels like my brain's gonna melt. Can we do something else…?"

Umi frowned, "You're supposed to study Math. No excuses. To think that you were the one who begged me for help…"

"I know, I know. But give me a break. I don't think I can take this anymore."

"Fine."

"How about we take a walk around the library?"

"Huh?"

"Let's walk around the library to relax."

Before Umi could protest, the ginger-haired girl grabbed Umi's hand and led her to the nearby shelves.

"H-Honoka?" Umi said uncertainly.

_Here goes nothing. _Honoka thought to herself before she wrapped her arms around Umi and pulled her into an embrace. Since she couldn't anything outrageous for fear of getting caught as well as fear of evoking Umi's wrath, Honoka decided to hug her.

Umi blushed as heat slowly crept up to her cheeks. Just like in the morning, her heart started to pound hardly against her chest. Her instinct was to push Honoka off but for some reason, she didn't want Honoka to let go of the hug. It almost felt nostalgic as Umi stayed rooted to the spot for several seconds before stammering, "H-Honoka? Why are you…?"

Honoka smiled against Umi's neck, "I just wanted to hug you. It's pretty cold here as well." Feeling Honoka's breath on her neck, Umi shivered pleasantly, a wave of electricity coursed through her body.

Honoka thought that the bluenete would push her away but to her surprise, not only did the bluenete not push her away, the usually self-conscious and bashful girl was hesitantly hugging her back.

Honoka's heart skipped a beat as she felt Umi's front pressed closer to her front. Quickly releasing the bluenete before she could do anything stupid, Honoka stared into the girl's mocha brown eyes.

When Honoka released her from the hug, Umi was almost disappointed but didn't let it show in her face. She then realised that Honoka was staring at her. Scratch that. She was staring into her eyes. Feeling a little uncomfortable at the unflinching and long gaze, Umi shifted her eyes downwards but unfortunately, it stopped at where Honoka's lips were.

Umi stiffened as Honoka's face was inching closer towards her. For a second, she thought she saw Honoka's pupils dilating and turning darker.

Is Honoka going to…? No, that wasn't possible, Umi reasoned. Maybe there's something on her face?

"H-Honoka. I-Is there something on my face?" Umi stammered, her face burning hotly as her heart sped up.

"Yes. Your lips." Honoka mumbled. _Crap. This is bad. I can't seem to think. Maybe this was a bad idea after all…_

But Umi wasn't listening anymore. Her eyes were now fixated on Honoka's lips.

_Her lips. Soft looking lips. _

It was as if she was being sucked back into the dream she'd had in the morning. Her heartbeat grew steadily and she gulped.

Honoka's face was now directly in front of her. She could feel her breath on her cheeks. She shuddered, not from the cold, but from the hot breath on her cool cheeks.

Her vision blurred a little, and she could almost see Honoka morphing into the male version of Honoka from her dreams.

_"Can I kiss you?" the boy boldly asked the girl in front of her. _

_The girl's face turned scarlet red as she stuttered, "W-W-What?"_

_"May I kiss you?" the boy repeated, now smiling._

The scene flashed across the bluenete's mind temporarily before she was dragged back to reality, leaving her a little confused.

Honoka's face was flushed, her breathing a little heavy. She was tempted to kiss Umi but she knew that she couldn't do that now. She forced herself to stay still as she planted her hands against the shelf, next to Umi's head.

_Move it, Honoka. Control yourself. Move away from Umi-chan. This is enough for today. _

_Move. _

Reluctantly, the ginger-haired girl forced herself to release Umi as she took a step back. Her hands were shaking a little as she took another step back.

_Calm down, Honoka._

_Calm down. _

Taking a deep breath, she turned around, not looking at the other girl, "Let's go back."

Umi was having difficulties trying to process what had happened just now. She didn't know what Honoka was trying to do. She didn't know what had gotten into her either. Her hands were trembling, her breathing shallow.

She was confused. Very confused.

Walking behind Honoka, the duo headed back to the table silently.

"Say, Umi-chan. I'm sorry." Honoka said quietly.

_Is she apologising for before…? _Umi said nothing as she continued staring at Honoka's back. _In my dreams, Honoka's back was much broader and she's also taller… Come to think of it, what was that just now? I was staring at…Honoka's lips and then a scene flashed across my mind. It felt like a dream, yet it's not a dream. More like a memory. Oh god, am I going nuts?_

_Why was my heart beating so fast? Why do I feel hot all over? Why do I feel disappointed when she let go of me? _

If Umi was honest with herself, she would have already figured out what's wrong with her. However, Umi refused to believe that. No, she could not believe that. She was still trying to lie to herself. _Maybe it's the dreams. _She tried to reason. But no matter how much she tried to deny it, she knew that whatever is happening to her, she should just accept it.

"Um…" Honoka tried to say, breaking off Umi's thoughts. They had already reached the table and Honoka was now facing Umi. They were looking at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to say to each other.

Apparently, Honoka didn't think too far to her plan.

"I think we should stop here for today," Umi finally broke the awkward silence.

Honoka nodded and said, "Okay. Let's…go to the clubroom?"

"Sure." Umi muttered.

Awkward silence.

"So, Umi-chan. About just now…" Honoka bravely said, "I didn't mean to do it. Sorry. I couldn't stand it if things get awkward between us…so just forget about just now." Honoka was blabbering off, which was prone to happen when awkward situation arises. _Stupid, Stupid. What the hell am I saying? Forget about just now? Wasn't the plan to get her interested in me? Ugh. What the hell am I doing?_

"Oh…okay…" Umi's heart felt heavy with disappointment. She didn't really want to forget what happened just now. To be honest, she wanted that to happen again, and this time, she wished that Honoka would place the soft looking lips of hers onto her own. At the thought of that, Umi flushed furiously, unbeknownst to the girl who was still walking in front of her.

With that realisation, Umi couldn't deny it anymore.

She had already fallen for her childhood and best friend, Kousaka Honoka.

* * *

A/N: Don't worry, I've not forgotten Kotori :) She'll have the spotlight in the next chapter.

Major Mike Powell III: I didn't enjoy writing Kotori being depressed either. As to whether Umi will notice both of their feelings...you'll find out soon :) Thanks for reviewing~ :D


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I apologise for the rather late update (compared to my usual ones) :X I was busy with my tests and whatnot. Anyways, chapter 4's here so enjoy!

Warning: There is a little description of how pyroclastic flows had killed a certain someone. So if you're not comfortable with such stuff, skip those paragraphs.

* * *

_4_

Umi had been subtly avoiding Honoka for a whole day. It was hard since they were in the same class. She tried not to talk to Honoka unless it was necessary. She still felt a little uneasy especially when she knew that she's in love with the ginger-haired girl.

Several times her eyes had subconsciously drifted to Honoka's direction just in time to catch her eye. She had blushed furiously and looked away immediately.

It was now after school and the classroom was almost empty save for a few students and the three childhood friends.

"U-Umi-chan." Honoka finally called the blue-haired girl. She knew she had no one else to blame but herself for the evasive behaviour of the bluenete.

"Y-Yes?" Umi pretended to be busy packing her bag. She knew that if she faced Honoka now, her heart would start to beat faster and she'll be flustered.

"Shall we go to club room together? Kotori-chan too." Honoka asked quietly.

Umi found herself shaking her head, "I've got Kyudo today. I'm sorry." That wasn't really a lie. She could've chosen not to attend Kyudo since she knew that the president would excuse her but she couldn't even look Honoka in the eye. How was she supposed to practice without eye contract with Honoka since it was her turn this week to lead the dance practice?

"Okay…" Honoka was a little disappointed but tried to not let it show as she turned towards Kotori.

"Kotori-chan?"

"I'll pass," Kotori said weakly, "I'm feeling a little tired. I'll be sleeping here for a while. If there's still time, I'll drop by the clubroom." Kotori was still brooding over her feelings for Umi and that had taken a toll on her. She was both physically and mentally exhausted and she hadn't had much sleep either.

With that said, she immediately rested her head on her folded arm that was on her desk and dozed off.

Honoka shrugged as she turned around and left the classroom.

The classroom was now empty except for the presence of two girls. One was sleeping, and the other was just deep in thought.

_Kotori's sleeping alone here. I can't just leave her here alone. _Umi thought to herself and she decided to stay in the classroom and do her homework while waiting for Kotori to wake up. She didn't feel like going to Kyudo either.

* * *

_Umi-chan._

_That's the only thought left in the girl's mind. _

_The building she was in had started to collapse, and she knew it was only time before she got caught and trapped in a pile of debris. _

_She had seen the people being buried live by huge slabs of stones and debris.  
She had heard the screams of agony and pain surrounding her.  
She had felt the despair of the people in the town as everything came crashing down.  
She could even taste the suffocating smell of ash._

_Umi-chan._

_The thought of her kept the girl moving. _

_As the girl somehow escaped the collapsing building, she was suddenly hit by a mucky hot gust of air. The blackened air was choking and unbearable, as bellows of grey gases and pyroclastic clouds gushed in her direction. _

_Her eyes widened in horror as realisation dawned upon her. She had read about it in one of the books in her father's study. She thought it was just a myth but she was unfortunately proved wrong. _

_She immediately took off, running for her dear life. _

_Unfortunately, the clouds of fire and rocks were coming at an astonishingly fast speed that it was impossible to outrun it. _

_The pyroclastic surges continued to gush forward and the girl felt herself being pushed back, crushed against a searing hot rock. _

_She screamed out in pain, her body burning rapidly as she gasped weakly underneath the heated rock. _

_She couldn't breathe. _

_The heat was killing her._

_She could only feel the torturous and extruciating pain as her body started to be consumed by the fire in a matter of seconds._

_"Umi...chan…" the greyish-brown haired girl muttered with her last breath as she felt her internal organs start to cook and roast under the extremely intense heat._

"Kotori! Kotori! Wake up! Kotori!" a panicked voice was trying to wake the girl up. Umi had seen Kotori's pained and disturbed expression and had been trying to wake her up to spare her of her nightmare. However, no matter how she tried to shake her, Kotori just wouldn't wake up, consumed by the nightmare as a soft whimper escaped from her lips, making Umi's heart ache.

Suddenly, Kotori jerked up and screamed, making the girl who was trying to wake her up flinch.

Her eyes were wild with fear as she breathed in heavily and shakily.

Kotori then shuddered violently as tears started to stream down her face. _Oh god, the dream…_

She could almost smell the smell of the ash from the dream. It felt so real. Her heart was pounding hardly against her chest as the memory of her dream came back to haunt her again.

_The burning sensation…It felt like my whole body was charred._

"Kotori? What's wrong?!" Umi asked worriedly, feeling alarmed.

"U-Umi-chan…" Kotori's voice broke as she started to cry.

Kotori couldn't help it as she her long held tears start to burst out in addition to the horrifying dream she had. _No. It wasn't a dream._Somehow she knew that it wasn't a dream.

It was a memory.

She finally remembered how she died.

The process was painful and lethally agonising and she'd felt it first hand in her dream.

Umi stared at Kotori, at loss. She had no idea what to do. She wasn't good with tears and this was the first time she saw Kotori like this.

Hesitantly but gently, Umi walked towards Kotori and pulled the sobbing girl into an embrace, patting her shaking back reassuringly, "It's okay, Kotori. It's just a dream."

Upon hearing Umi's words of consolation, she cried harder.

"Kotori…" Umi murmured softly.

Minutes later, Kotori 's crying died down slowly as she sniffed.

"I-I'm sorry, Umi-chan…for troubling you like that…"

"It's okay, Kotori. That's what best friends are for right?" Umi smiled warmly at the other girl.

Seeing the bright smile on Umi's face, Kotori's heart quickened. Umi released Kotori from her hold and without warning, Kotori grabbed Umi's shoulders and kissed her on her lips.

* * *

A/N:

Major Mike Powerll III: I feel like i've 'neglected' Kotori and made her a depressing person :x anyways, i present to you a umixkotori moment ;) and be prepared for more kotori sadness...but don't worry, kotori will get her fair share of love as well :)

devilhamster: yay. thanks :)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: chapter 5~

enjoy~

* * *

5

Umi was stunned. Shocked. She could only stand there, dazed as she let her childhood friend steal her first kiss.

Seconds later, Kotori immediately pulled away, her eyes widened with fear at what she'd done and she began apologising immediately.

"I-I'm so sorry…Umi-chan…I –" Kotori was close to tears again. Kotori knew that she shouldn't have kissed Umi. But it was out of impulse that she did and now she felt guilty.

_If Kotori kissed me…then…does that mean that she…? _

"Kotori…" the blue-haired girl muttered softly as she raised her hands slowly and touched her lips and she blushed.

Umi was confused. Utterly confused.

She didn't hate the kiss. She thought it felt…nice. She hadn't expected Kotori to kiss her but for some reason, she didn't want her to stop.

She didn't really understand what happened there. She was sure that she's in love with Honoka. If she was, how can she want another girl to kiss her? Kotori didn't make her heart race like Honoka.

Around Kotori, she was really comfortable.

"K-Kotori…" the bluenete said, trying to reach out to the other girl. Kotori immediately stood up hurriedly, and ran out of the classroom, a new set of tears streaming down her face.

"Kotori…" Umi's heart broke at the sight of her childhood friend running out of the classroom in tears.

* * *

The next day, Kotori was avoiding her.

_So this is how it feels when someone avoids you…_Umi sighed to herself, now feeling guilty for avoiding Honoka yesterday. The bluenete felt uneasy and upset that Kotori was avoiding her. She wanted to console the girl, wanted to tell her that she doesn't mind the kiss but each time she tried to call out to Kotori, the greyish-brown haired girl would pretend to be asleep, her head on the desk.

Honoka noticed all these and wondered what had happened between the two. She wanted to ask Umi or Kotori about it but she had a feeling that she wouldn't want to know what had actually happened.

During lessons, she peeked over, only to see both Kotori and Umi deep in thought; Kotori seemed a little depressed while Umi had a strange look on her face.

At her desk, Umi was half listening to her teacher as she tried to re-organise her thoughts.

Suddenly, her head started to throb and her temperature started to rise. A sharp pain stabbed her head and Umi bit back a gasp as she gritted her teeth, pressing her head with her hand.

Voices started to echo inside her and before she could figure out what's wrong with her, she felt like she was being pulled into something.

_"Kotori!" the blue haired girl whispered loudly, trying to catch the greyish-brown-haired girl's attention, "Open the window."_

_"U-Umi-chan. What on earth are you doing here?" Kotori whispered back, just as loud, looking down from the castle window. _

_"What do you mean by what I'm doing here? I'm here to see you of course!" Umi hissed back, "That father of yours locked you up in the castle again right? Since you can't get out, I'll get in!"_

_"Umi-chan…" the princess sighed, "It's not his fault. He's just worried about me, with all the conflict going on with who's going to be the next King or Queen."_

_"It doesn't matter either way. I'll be up there in a bit. You have a rope in your room don't you? Throw it down. I'll be up there soon."_

_"But it's dangerous!" Kotori was worried about her friend. _

_"It's okay. If Honoka was here, I'm sure he'll climb up too."_

_"But he's a guy, and you're a girl," Kotori tried again._

_"It's the same," Umi retorted._

_I give up, Kotori thought tiredly to herself. Umi-chan's so stubborn sometimes. _

_She then proceeded to grab the long and thick ropes that she'd hidden under her bed and with great effort, lowered the rope down the window of her room after tying the rope tightly against a huge and strong pillar in her room. _

_Grinning, Umi wiped her hands on her breeches – she stole it from her father since girls were not supposed to wear or own them – and started to scale the tall castle. _

_I can do this. Umi thought to herself as she made her way up the brick walls of the castle. To say that she wasn't scared was a lie. She was afraid but determination and her need to see her friend out rode the fear. _

_Gritting her teeth, she clung onto her dear life as she continued up the wall. _

_It was amazing how Umi was able to scale the walls with only a rope. It was no easy feat especially given how dangerous it was. One small slip and she'll fall and break her bones. _

_When she finally reached the window, Kotori reached her hand out and Umi gladly accepted them as she staggered into the room, breathing heavily. _

_"Umi-chan, are you okay?" amber eyes met brown eyes worriedly._

_"I'm fine…" Umi said, smiling weakly, "Just need to catch my breath."_

_"But you were so amazing!" Kotori gushed, "The wall's so tall and you can scale it up with yourself. Where did you learn how to climb a wall like that?"_

_A little embarrassed, the bluenete said, "I used to climb the trees at my backyard when I was scolded by my dad. Furthermore, my dad made me take all sorts of courses, mostly athletic ones."_

_"Your father treats you like a boy, huh?" Kotori giggled._

_Umi shrugged, "Yes, he does. I was initially opposed to it. I mean, what part of me looks like a boy?"_

_Kotori's amber eyes softened as she stared at her friend in front of her._

_"Hmm…considering the fact that you're actually wearing a male's breeches…and your hair's tied up, you look like a feminine boy." _

_Umi sighed. _

_Before she could say anything, loud footsteps could be heard nearing the bedroom door. _

_"Oh no! Umi-chan, quick, hide! I think my mother's coming!" Kotori started to panic._

_Umi gulped. Kotori's mother was one hell of a woman. Not only is she intimidating, once she realise that she'd snuck into her daughter's room, there'll be hell to pay._

_Surveying the room, she tried to think of a place where she could hide. _

_"Umi-chan, hurry!" Kotori said urgently, her voice panicky._

_Taking a deep breath, Umi pushed herself under the bed just as the door opened._

"Sonoda-san, Sonoda-san!" the teacher's voice pulled her out of…whatever that was. A memory? A dream? Umi didn't really know. All she knew that she was disoriented and her head felt a little dizzy.

"Sonoda-san, are you okay?" the teacher had walked towards Umi's desk worriedly, "You look a little pale. Do you wish to do to the infirmary?"

Shaking her head, Umi said, "I-I'm fine. Thanks for the concern…and I apologise that you had to interrupt the class because of me."

"It's no problem at all, Sonoda-san. If you feel unwell, please do let the teacher know, okay?"

Umi nodded as the teacher walked away. She could feel her classmates staring at her, some are worried about her, some wondered what was wrong.

"Umi-chan!" Honoka whispered loudly. Umi turned to look at Honoka and the ginger-haired girl mouthed, "Are you okay?"

Umi nodded wearily mouthing back, "I'm fine."

On the other hand, Kotori had noticed that Umi was in fact, not fine as she claimed she was. She noticed that Umi's hands were shaking a little and a pained look flashed across her face a few minutes ago.

Kotori was worried about the bluenete but she didn't say anything. She was still afraid to face Umi, given what happened yesterday.

Umi sighed inwardly. _What was that…? It didn't seem like a dream…or was it? Is it even possible to dream when you're awake? _

Umi was still trying to figure that out as lessons ended for the day.

"Are you two going to the clubroom today?" Honoka asked.

Deciding not to run away from Honoka anymore, Umi nodded, "I'm going."

"Kotori?" Umi turned to the grey-haired girl.

Kotori nodded but averted the bluenete's gaze.

"Shall we head off together then?" Honoka asked cheerfully.

Umi nodded with a smile and the trio headed for the clubroom.

"Sorry for intruding…" Honoka said as she opened the door.

Most of the members of μ's were already there. Eri and Nozomi were talking about something while Rin was teasing Maki.

"Where's the rest?" Umi asked.

"Hmm…Kayo-chi's held back by the teacher but she'll be here soon. Niko-chan…I have no idea," Rin turned to look at Umi.

"If you're talking about Niko, then she has classroom duties I think," Eri interrupted.

"Since everyone's almost here…I have an announcement to make," Nozomi grinned, "We've been invited by the drama club to be part of their main casts for this year's drama night!"

The whole room echoed with 'wows' and 'oohs' at the news.

"Really?!" Honoka jumped excitedly, "What's it on?"

"Well…they haven't decided on what it should be on yet. But if we have any ideas, we can tell them," Eri said.

"Awesome! I can't wait!" the ginger-haired girl grinned as she did a little dance in the clubroom, earning laughs from the rest of the μ's.

"Actually, both the president of the drama club and I had already decided who's gonna be the protagonist of the play," Eri smiled.

"Yep, Honoka-chan, Umi-chan and Kotori-chan would be playing the main roles," Nozomi announced.

"Really?!" Honoka's eyes widened in surprise and she shouted, "Yes!"

Umi smiled at Honoka's enthusiasm but said, "Nozomi…I don't think I can…" she trailed off. Nozomi, understanding that Umi was still a little shy when it came to things like that, smiled gently, "It's okay. Just give it a try."

Doubting that she would actually be able to do it, she nodded slightly, "Okay, fine. I'll try –" Before she could finish her sentence, a wave of nausea hit her and the world started to spin around her. Her body started to feel hot and a familiar tugging sensation seemed to overwhelm her. _Oh god, not this again. _Umi started to panic.

Unfortunately, there was nothing the blue-haired girl could do as she was pulled back into another set of dream.

_Trapped._

_She was trapped. _

_No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't move her body. Something heavy was crushing her, restricting her movements to only weak struggles that would hurt her more._

_She was lying on her back, the huge debris slab on her. She tried to survey her surroundings but couldn't see a thing except for total darkness. _

_Fear started to rise within her when she realised that there was no way out. She was stuck under piles of debris and there was nothing she could do to get out of her current situation._

_Her breathing quickened as she started to panic, squirming under the weight even though she knew that it was futile. _

_The only thought in her mind was to get out of there and find Honoka. _

_"H…Honoka…" she whispered her lover's name longingly. She wanted to see Honoka. She was worried about him and prayed for his safety. _

_She couldn't understand what had happened. She had heard a loud rumbling sound and before she knew what was happening, the whole town seemed to be collapsing. And while she was running, it seemed like a huge slab of debris had fallen onto her and subsequently, piles of debris started to fall near her, effectively trapping her. _

_Still squirming, Umi started to breathe in heavily, panting, as the air started to thin out and a choking smell started to invade her nostrils. She started to cough heavily in between gasps as the smell got stronger. Her head started to spin, and she could see white spots dancing in her vision. _

_She couldn't breathe. _

_She couldn't even think._

_Her vision started to dim, her head heavy. _

_Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, the blue haired girl succumbed into a painful darkness._

Umi gasped when she's pulled back to reality. Feeling disoriented, she tried to focus. She could vaguely hear her idol-mates calling her name worriedly but their voices started to become distant as her world spun around her and everything started to split into threes and fours. Without warning, her knees buckled and the blue haired girl fell sideways and collapsed onto the ground.

"Umi-chan! Umi-chan!" Honoka's voice was filled with worry as she rushed towards the bluenete who had collapsed onto the floor.

"Umi…chan…" Kotori's voice quivered as she clenched her teeth. _Oh god. Umi-chan… It can't be…_

The rest of the μ's stood there, still shocked, unable to comprehend what had happened.

Eri snapped out of it and quickly rushed towards the unconscious girl, yelling commands and instructions to the rest of the members of μ's.

"Kotori, Nozomi! Carry Umi to the infirmary now. Honoka, go and inform Umi's parents. I'm trusting you have their numbers right?"

Honoka looked torn between staying with Umi and calling her parents. To be honest, she didn't want to leave Umi. But before she could object, Eri's voice snapped, "Hurry up!"

Biting her lips, Honoka left Umi's side reluctantly as she went over to her bag and picked up her cell phone.

"The rest of you stay here till Hanayo and Niko comes. Inform them about the situation. Club activities would be cancelled for today. I'll go out and inform a teacher," Eri ordered as Kotori and Nozomi worked together to carry the unconscious girl to the infirmary.

Fortunately, the hallway was clear of students and they made it quickly to the infirmary.

As Kotori and Nozomi burst into the infirmary with the unconscious Umi, Kotori immediately shouted, her voice panicked and worried, "Sensei!"

The nurse turned around, wondering what was wrong. When she saw Umi, her face hardened and she immediately rushed towards them, taking Umi off them and place her at the bed.

"What happened?" the nurse demanded authoritatively.

Kotori opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't say anything as tears gathered at the edge of her eyes.

"She fainted in our clubroom just now," Nozomi, took over, sensing that Kotori couldn't say anything.

The nurse nodded and asked, "Was she ill?"

Nozomi shook her head, "Didn't seem like it. One second she was…talking to me and before all of us knew what was happening, she collapsed."

Kotori couldn't take it any longer. She dropped onto the ground as tears spilled out of her eyes. _It's…all my fault. _

"K-Kotori-chan…" Nozomi looked at the younger girl sympathetically. The Student Council Vice President then squatted down beside the grey-haired girl and said softly, "It's okay, Kotori-chan. Umi-chan's gonna be fine."

"B-But…it's all my fault…" Kotori's voice was filled with anguish as she whispered chokingly between her sobs.

Nozomi didn't understand why it was Kotori's fault but judging by Kotori's reaction, she could somewhat guess that something must have happened between the two. Nozomi bit her lip. She wanted to ask Kotori what happened between the two of them but wasn't sure if she should.

"She's fine for now. She might've fainted from exhaustion…but…" the nurse trailed off. After a second, she said, "Never mind. Have you guys contacted her parents?"

"Yes." Nozomi said as she helped Kotori up. Before Nozomi could say anything, loud footsteps could be heard coming closer to the infirmary.

"Umi-chan!" someone burst into the infirmary, panting.

"Honoka-chan?" Nozomi looked at the ginger-haired girl, surprised.

Honoka immediately rushed towards Umi's side and saw that her childhood friend was still unconscious on the bed.

Seeing the way Honoka was looking at Umi, something tugged at Kotori's chest. _It hurts. It hurts so much. Seeing the both of them together…_

It was then a faint gasp could be heard.

"Umi-chan!" Honoka brightened up when she saw Umi's eyes opening slowly.

"K-Koto…oh…Honoka…" Umi blinked weakly as she saw her ginger-haired friend standing next to her, a worried and relieved expression on her face. _Where's Kotori…?_

"W-What happened?" Umi asked groggily, pressing her palm against her forehead.

"You don't remember?" Honoka asked gently.

"I…" Umi hissed as a stab of pain pierced through her head. _I remember..being pulled into another set of dream…I was…_Umi sucked in a breath when she finally recalled her "dream".

"Umi-chan? What's wrong?" the ginger-haired girl asked worriedly.

"N-Nothing. So what happened?" Umi said quickly.

"You were talking to Nozomi but halfway through a sentence you fainted." Honoka explained.

_So…that means…those dreams only lasted a few seconds in reality? _Umi thought to herself as she sighed inwardly.

"Okay, guys. Now that the Sonoda-san had woken up, I would like to perform some check-ups on her. So if you would, please exit the infirmary and come back later.

Honoka nodded and said, "I'll see you later, Umi-chan."

Umi nodded, giving her a small smile. She then turned her attention to Kotori, "K-Kotori…"

Kotori almost flinched at the sound of Umi's voice but forced herself to walk towards her.

"I'm so sorry," Kotori apologised, biting back her tears.

"Y-You don't have to apologise," Umi said softly, "I don't hate it."

Hope ignited in the grey-haired girl's heart. "Really?" Kotori's voice sounded like a wounded kitten.

"Yeah, and thanks for carrying me here. You too, Nozomi," Umi said looking at the two of them.

"How…did you…?"

"I wasn't fully unconscious when you guys carried me." Umi explained.

"I'll talk to you later, Kotori." Umi said firmly and squeezed her childhood friend's hand reassuringly.

Kotori nodded and the three left the infirmary.

Outside, Honoka, Kotori and Nozomi stood near the door quietly, waiting.

Finally, Honoka broke the silence, "Um…guys…? C-Can I talk to Umi-chan first for awhile later?"

Nozomi stared at the ginger-haired girl who had a troubled look on her face.

The purple head had a bad feeling about this but she had no right to stop Honoka, so she nodded her head. Kotori could already guess what her childhood friend wanted to say to Umi and although she desperately wanted to stop Honoka, she knew, deep down in her heart, she too, had no right to stop her and that it was probably the best choice.

_Even though it's probably the best choice…it still hurts. It hurts so much that it feels as if my heart's going to break into pieces. _Kotori clenched her fists tightly but nodded at Honoka.

Honoka smiled, visibly relieved. When the nurse called out to say that they could go in again, Honoka took a deep breath and entered the infirmary. She didn't notice Nozomi patting Kotori's shoulder, neither did she notice that Kotori was holding back her tears.

"It seems like one of your friends had called Sonoda-san's teacher. I'll meet her and update her on your condition so I'll be back soon. Meanwhile, don't leave the infirmary." The nurse said as she grabbed a clipboard and left the infirmary.

"Umi-chan," Honoka said when the nurse left the room.

Umi looked up at her childhood friend and noticed that Honoka had a serious look on her face.

"What's wrong, Honoka?" the blue-haired girl asked.

"I know this probably isn't a really good time to be saying this but this has been on my mind for quite some time now," Honoka started to say.

Honoka took in another deep breath and stared into Umi's brown eyes.

"I'm in love with you, Umi-chan."

* * *

A/N: It feels like things are getting more and more complicated now. At first, both Honoka and Kotori like Umi. Honoka pulled a stunt and Umi falls for Honoka. Or thinks she's falling for Honoka. Then, Kotori kissed Umi, leaving Umi confused about her feelings for both of them. And now, Honoka confesses to Umi.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I apologise for yet another late update .

Enjoy!

* * *

6

Sonoda Umi was faced with several conflicting emotions.

She was really really happy that Honoka liked her back. But she was still confused over Kotori.

A part of her told her that she should be happy, that her feelings were reciprocated, and to accept Honoka's confession. However, another part of her was preventing her from doing that. She didn't know why, but Kotori's crying face surfaced into her mind at this moment. Seeing the latter's face in her mind made her hesitate.

_I shouldn't be hesitating…so why…?_

Honoka was still waiting for an answer.

She knew that she was taking a huge risk.

She knew that her childhood friend was shocked and needed time to consider.

Finally, Honoka said, "It's okay. You don't have to answer me now, Umi-chan. Just…don't take too long to give me an answer. I'll be waiting."

With that, Honoka left the room before the surprised and conflicted girl that was lying on the infirmary bed could say anything.

It was then Nozomi walked into the infirmary.

"How're you feeling?" The Vice-President asked kindly.

"I'm fine, thanks for your concern," Umi forced a smile when she realised that Kotori was nowhere to be seen.

"Good to hear. I'll be going back to the clubroom and update the rest on what's happening. Be sure to rest well, you're excused from club activities till you get better."

"Thanks…Nozomi," Umi gave the purple-haired girl a smile.

"You're welcome."

"Say…do you know where Kotori went?" Umi asked silently.

Nozomi paused and said, "I think she went behind the school…and I think Honoka-chan followed her…"

Umi blinked and thanked the girl.

The said girl nodded her head and left the room.

_Kotori's trying to avoid me again huh…_

Umi sighed sadly. She had to find Kotori and sort things out with her. And Honoka too.

_I have to give her an answer._

Deciding that she wouldn't be able to achieve anything by just lying on the bed, Umi decided to look for Kotori. Besides, she felt fine now and in spite of the Nurse's warning, Umi left the infirmary.

* * *

The wind blew strongly against the swaying trees as two girls stood in front of each other.

"I…I confessed to Umi-chan just now," a ginger-haired girl admitted, staring into the amber eyes of her childhood friend.

"I know," the greyish-brown haired girl said softly, trying her best to suppress her hurt and anguish as she looked away.

"You…knew?" Honoka asked in surprise.

Kotori nodded, biting her lips. _Oh God, Is she going to tell me that they're dating now? I don't think I can stand it. _

Oblivious to the other girl's thoughts, Honoka continued, "She hasn't given me an answer yet."

Kotori's heart skipped a beat. _Does that mean…that there's a chance that…No. There isn't. Umi-chan is already having visions from the past…and undoubtedly, Honoka-chan is in there. And the way Umi-chan looks at Honoka-chan sometimes… I can't believe that Umi-chan hadn't accepted Honoka-chan's confession already. What's stopping her?_

"I just wanted to tell you. You know, since we're best friends and all," Honoka's voice broke Kotori out of her moody thoughts.

Unconsciously, a tear escaped from Kotori's eye.

Honoka's eyes widened in shock upon seeing her best friend's tear even as Kotori hastily wiped it away.

"K-Kotori-cham…"

Kotori cleared her throat and tried to turn around and walk away but Honoka's hands gripped onto the girl's shoulder.

"Kotori-chan…don't tell me…you…like Umi-chan as well…."

Kotori sucked in a breath as she stiffened.

_I've been found out….I've been found out…Honoka-chan knows now…_

"W-Why didn't you tell me? Or say anything? How…how long have you…?" Honoka was on the verge of panic. She couldn't believe that her best friend had also fallen in love with Umi.

Kotori bit her lip and whispered quietly, "Since we were young,"

"T-That's…and you didn't say anything…? Does…Umi-chan know?"

Kotori shook her head sadly, "I never told her."

Honoka blinked as she clenched her fists, "You could've told her…"

"I can't." Kotori was on the verge of tears as her voice cracked.

"Kotori-chan…"

"I'm sorry!" The greyish-haired girl spun around and started to run away from the ginger-haired girl, leaving the latter alone by the tree as she sank down on her knees.

_I'm a coward. All I can do is run. _Kotori thought as she ran out of the school.

* * *

"Where can Kotori be?" Umi muttered to herself as she walked to the back of the school. She couldn't find Kotori or even Honoka anywhere.

_But Nozomi told me that they were by the back of the school…_

Umi sighed.

_Regardless, I still have to find Kotori._

Taking in a deep breath, Umi tried searching again, this time, she tried searching by the other side of the school.

It was then she saw a figure running out of school.

"K..Kotori..?"

_Was that Kotori? Why's she running out of the school? I have to catch up to her._

Without thinking, the bluenete started to chase after the said girl out of the school.

Somehow, she'd lost Kotori when she ran out of the school but the blue haired girl followed her instinct and went to a nearby park, the park where the three childhood friends often played at when they were kids. She had a feeling Kotori might be there.

When she reached the park, she immediately spotted the greyish-haired girl by the tree.

Before she could call out to her, she realised that there were two men near Kotori. One pinned his arms over Kotori's head, effectively trapping her while the other stood by her side, his face close to Kotori's.

_How dare they make a move on Kotori like that? Those bastards. _

Umi's throat felt raw and dry. She couldn't breathe. Her blood boiled as anger coursed through her body when she saw that the two men were leaning too close to her childhood friend.

Kotori, on the other hand, was trembling slightly at the two men in front of her and was close to tears.

Umi gnashed her teeth, enraged.

_Can't they see they're making her cry? Those son-of-a- _

One of the men touched Kotori's chin, trailing his filthy fingers down her cheeks to her neck, down her collar bone –

Umi snapped.

Feeling for something sharp around her, she grabbed a rock with sharp and jagged edge and grabbed her hair band from her pocket. Without hesitation, Umi took aim as she pulled the rock behind her hair band. A second later, the rock shot towards the man in front of Kotori.

The sharp edge of the rock stabbed at the back of the man's head and he dropped to the ground almost immediately.

Kotori squealed in surprise.

The other man, shocked turned around, only to see Umi walking towards him, her eyes dark and murderous as she glared icily at him.

The man gulped, realising that they blue-haired girl walking towards him had expertly taken out his friend with a headshot with a hair band and a rock; he immediately scurried away.

Umi had half a mind to chase after the man but decided against it as her eyes sought for Kotori.

"Kotori, are you okay? Did the men do anything to you?!" Umi demanded anxiously.

"I-I'm fine…Thank you…" Kotori was still shocked by the turn of events.

She'd never seen her friend so furious and worried before.

When Umi had glared coldly at the men, she felt a shiver down her spine. It was as if Umi had been possessed by a demon. If looks could kill, Kotori was sure that the men would be dead by now.

The only time she'd seen Umi mad was the few times where they'd accidentally woken Umi up from her sleep at night.

Shaking her head inwardly from those thoughts, Kotori looked at the bluenete, who was still mad about what the men had done.

"I would've dealt more damage to them if I had my bow and arrow with me now," Umi muttered darkly as she led Kotori away from the tree, towards the playground.

"C-Calm down, Umi-chan. They didn't do anything to me…" Kotori tried to calm and assure the bluenete.

"But he touched you!" Umi hissed, "They...He…he…touched your face…your neck…your collar bone and god knows what he'll do to you if I didn't stop him!"

Kotori was starting to get a little scared. She was glad and happy that Umi had saved her but the Umi in front of her now seemed…out of control and that scared her. She never knew that Umi could get so worked up.

"Umi-chan. I'm fine now. You don't have to worry. You saved me, that's all it matters." Kotori spoke soothingly as she hugged the bluenete.

Umi blushed slightly in Kotori's embrace and calmed down immediately. _She feels so warm and comfortable. _Umi thought as she returned her friend's embrace. For some reason, she wished that this moment would never end.

Umi then remembered why she was here in the first place.

But before Umi could say anything, Kotori said quietly, "Umi-chan, there's something I need to tell you."

* * *

avemari: thanks for dropping a review! Don't worry too much about your english :) as long as i can understand it, it's fine :) Don't worry, Kotori will have her 'moments' too :) that's all i can say for now~

Major Mike Powell III: As usual, thanks for the review! :) :D look forward to the next chapter~


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I apologise for the late update DX I fell sick last week and thus couldn't update the a new chapter even though it was 3/4 done. .

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well! (though it was kinda rushed)

* * *

7

Kotori knew that this wasn't the right time especially since Honoka had confessed to Umi but she knew that if she didn't use this chance to say it, she'd never do.

However, the three words that she'd most wanted to say to her childhood friend was stuck in her throat.

She couldn't.

She couldn't say it.

"Kotori…?" the bluenete asked cautiously.

Grappling for something to say, the greyish-haired girl blurted out, "Honoka-chan was a guy in the past."

_No, no, no. This wasn't what I wanted to say. Argh. How stupid can you get, Kotori?_

"P-Pardon…?" Umi stuttered. _How...How did she know about my dreams…that Honoka's a boy…or was it just a coincidence...?_

"N-Nothing…" Kotori lied, looking away uneasily.

Umi narrowed her eyes suspiciously and forced Kotori to look at her, "How..did you know about my dreams?"

_Her dreams…? So I was right after all. Umi-chan did dream about her past life._

Knowing that she'd no way out of this, Kotori finally confessed, "I didn't. I only figured it out when you…fainted in the clubroom. Earlier today in class…you seemed distracted as well. So I assumed that you must've had those dreams…"

"Those dreams? You mean you have them as well?" Umi asked.

Kotori nodded sheepishly, "Mine is different from yours, actually. But Honoka's still a boy…"

"H-How is that even possible? Both of us dreaming of Honoka…as a boy…" Umi was still surprised and shocked.

Kotori took in a deep breath. _Here comes the hard part. _

"Umi-chan, we're actually reincarnated from the past," Kotori dropped the bomb.

The bluenete's eyes widened slightly as she opened her mouth and tried to say something.

"Those dreams that you've had are actually memories of the past," Kotori continued, interrupting Umi.

"I…I can't believe…" Umi started to shake her head. _There's got to be a more scientific reason for this… This isn't possible. If it is…then…that means…Honoka and I…are… _Umi blushed furiously at that thought. _Lovers. _

Kotori smiled weakly at the other girl, "I'm sorry."

"So…you knew about...it all along? You've had your memories intact ever since you were born…?" Umi eyes widened further as realisation dawned upon her.

"Yes," Kotori said grimly.

"I need to think…" Umi muttered as she staggered back from all the information. Her head was reeling with the new knowledge as pieces of her 'dreams', or rather, her memories, invaded her mind.

Kotori felt sorry for her childhood friend. She'd thought of telling the other girl before but she never knew when or how. She knew it'd be hard to accept all these all at once but she hoped that Umi would believe her.

"Okay. I'll believe you." Umi finally decided.

A spark of hope lit up in Kotori's heart but it was quickly extinguished with Umi's next words, "I still need to talk to you about the kiss."

Kotori froze.

"What's there to talk about?" Kotori asked quietly, "It was my fault for forcing myself upon."

"I know. And I told you I didn't mind it – as absurd as it sounds. What I wanted to know was…why?"

Kotori was caught in a dilemma. Should she just confess to her now since she'd missed her chance just now? Or should she just evade the question?

"Kotori, please," the bluenete begged the other girl, her brown orbs pleading.

Kotori couldn't resist the pleading look on Umi' face and she finally said, "I…I was having a nightmare…so my emotions were all jumbled up. I guess…those emotions went out of control and it led me to kiss you…" _Ugh. I'm a coward. A god damned coward. _

Kotori still couldn't bring herself to admit to Umi that she's actually in love with the blue-haired girl.

Umi nodded, seemingly accepting Kotori's reason.

"That…nightmare…" Umi started, wondering if she was stepping on a dangerous territory but brushed it aside as curiosity and concern for her best friend won over.

Kotori took a deep breath, "It was a memory of my death."

"I'm sorry…" Umi tried to say.

Kotori shook her head, "No…it's fine. You were reliving your…death too…before you fainted right?"

Umi nodded slightly, not surprised now that Kotori had guessed it correctly.

"It was terrible," Umi muttered, "Buildings were collapsing all over the town and people were dying everywhere…."

"I know…" Kotori said softly, "I finally figured out what had happened but I wasn't sure where or when this 'past' took place."

Umi looked up at the greyish-haired girl, "What happened?"

"Volcanic eruption," Kotori stated.

"Volcanic…eruption…?" Umi repeatedly dumbly, "Then…that must've been quite some time ago…"

"Yea, the buildings and sceneries looked quite different. I'm sure it's not from the 21st century but if I were to guess, perhaps even before the 14th century."

"But why now? Of all times, why do I remember them now?" Umi questioned.

Kotori shrugged apologetically, "I have no idea. I'm sorry, Umi-chan…I didn't understand why mine was mostly intact as well."

"I see…then what about Honoka?" Umi asked.

"Honoka-chan? I'm…not too sure. Perhaps?" Kotori said. Kotori had a feeling that Honoka has those dreams as well but she wasn't sure if she remembered everything.

"We won't know till we ask her huh…" Umi muttered.

"Y-Yeah."

"Well, let's go back to school. Our bags are still there right?"

"O-Okay…"

Umi smiled gently at Kotori, and extended her hand out towards Kotori. Kotori paused for a second before deciding to grasp the smooth and warm hand in front of her.

"By the way, why were you running out of the school just now?" Umi asked curiously.

* * *

Honoka now stood at the roof top, unsure of herself.

Her emotions were…all over the place and she had no idea what she should do.

She had confessed to Umi and was still waiting for the bluenete's answer.

She found out that Kotori was also in love with Umi – for a much, _much _longer time than she had.

Kotori had not confessed to Umi yet.

It hurts. Knowing that her childhood friend was also in love with the girl she's in love with.

Honoka didn't want to hurt to Kotori but it seemed like she already did. She didn't want to give up on Umi but she didn't want Kotori to be sad either.

The ginger-haired girl sighed gloomily, resting her chin on the railing, dangling her hands over the grey metal.

"What should I do…?" Honoka mumbled to herself.

"Why don't you talk to Kotori-chan?" a new voice spoke out.

Startled, Honoka spun around, only to see her purple-haired senior strolling towards her.

"I did, but she ran away."

"Don't let her run away next time, then." Nozomi stated.

"Wait. How did you…" Honoka trailed off, suddenly realising that Nozomi probably knew what was going on.

"I was watching the three of you."

"Does that mean…the rest knew…?" Honoka looked horrified at the thought that the rest of the μ's knew what was going on.

"Nope. Only Eri-chi and I. Maybe Maki-chan too. You'll never know with her…"

Honoka laughed uneasily. Was she that obvious?

As if reading her thoughts, Nozomi shook her head, "It wasn't _that _obvious since Niko-chi and the others couldn't pick it up."

Honoka sighed in relief.

"Has Umi-chan given an answer to you yet?" Nozomi asked.

"Nope…Wait. You knew I confessed?!"

"No, I guessed. Looks like I was right," Nozomi grinned slyly at the ginger-haired girl.

"Nozomi-chan! You tricked me!"

The Vice-President laughed heartily before turning serious again, "Anyway, back to the topic. Since I've been watching you guys for a while now…I was wondering. Do you really like Umi-chan? Are you really in love with her?"

"W-What do you mean by that?" Honoka asked, confused. Of course she liked Umi-chan. She was in love with her after all.

"Just think about what I said. That's the only advice I can give you for now," Nozomi waved and started to walk away.

"Wait! Nozomi-chan! Answer me!"

"Interpret it however you wish~" Nozomi said mysteriously before disappearing towards the staircase.

Honoka sighed in frustration.

* * *

_On the way home_

After what Kotori had told her, Umi started to think about her 'dreams', or rather, her past memories.

She tried to piece everything together but the only thing she got out of it was that she was Honoka's lover, that Kotori, Honoka and her were childhood friends, she was the daughter of a noble man, and she died when she was trapped under debris of collapsed buildings.

Umi then thought about Honoka's confession.

She was Honoka's lover in the past life. Just the thought of it summoned vivid images of their time together, making the blue haired girl blush a little.

Honoka's in love with her now.

Did that mean that she should just accept her confession?

In fact, there was no reason for the blue haired girl to reject Honoka. Umi's in love with Honoka after all. Isn't she…? And she was together with Honoka in the past. So it should be fine…right?

She didn't want to think too much into it but after what Kotori had told her and realising what her dreams meant, Umi wondered if those memories have an influence on her own feelings for Honoka.

To put it bluntly, she was doubting her own feelings for Honoka.

And what about Kotori? What did she feel for her? After all, Kotori had kissed her out of the blue and strangely enough, the bluenete didn't push her away.

"This is so confusing…" Umi rubbed her temple and sighed.

"What's so confusing?" a voice spoke from behind.

Umi almost jumped at the voice.

"N-Nozomi!"

The purple haired senior smiled warmly at the bluenete.

"W-What are you doing here…?"

"Oh? I live around here. I just happened to see you troubled and muttering to yourself so I came over to see if I could be of any help."

"Um…"

"So how are you feeling now?" Nozomi asked gently.

Umi smiled, "I'm fine, thanks for your concern."

"You know, when you fainted, Kotori-chan and Honoka-chan got so scared and worried," the purple haired girl commented.

"I'm sorry…" Umi said guilty. She didn't mean to worry her childhood friends too much.

"Well, Honoka-chan seemed a bit lost but Kotori…how should I say this…she had a very sad look on her face…a look like she'd lost something very precious to her. It almost hurt to watch."

Umi didn't know what to say. It was an understandable for Honoka but as for Kotori…she didn't think that her fainting would affect the greyish-brown haired girl so much.

"Anyway…." Nozomi then reached for something in her bag.

"Tarot…cards?" Umi raised an eyebrow.

"Yep. Pick two." Nozomi instructed, indicating the deck of cards.

Umi blinked before she hesitantly reached for a card from the middle and from the top.

She handed them to Nozomi and the purple head flipped the cards over.

"_The Lovers_ and _The Empress_," Nozomi smirked. Umi frowned a little at the cards she'd picked.

"What does that…mean?" Umi asked cautiously.

"Nothing really bad. Just be careful of who you choose," Nozomi winked before she waved, "See you tomorrow, Umi-chan."

The bluenete could only stare blankly at the third year as she wondered if Nozomi is implying that she knew what was going on between the Honoka and her.

_Knowing Nozomi…she probably does. _Umi thought to herself as she continued back home, more confused than ever.

* * *

_Next day, after school_

"Kotori-chan, I need to talk to for a bit," Honoka went over to Kotori's table once the last bell rang.

"Honoka-chan…."

"Please."

"O-Okay…" Kotori finally said as nervously.

"Umi-chan, you can go to the club room first. I have something I want to ask Kotori," Honoka said seriously.

Before Umi could answer, the ginger haired girl had already dragged the grey haired girl out of the classroom, to a more secluded place along the corridor of an empty classroom.

"Here. No one can hear us now. Kotori-chan, I want you to answer me seriously. Do you really love Umi-chan?"

Kotori took in a deep breath and said quietly "Yes."

Honoka exhaled slowly and turned around, her back to Kotori, "Okay. I've decided."

"Um…H-Honoka-chan…?"

"It's okay."

"Huh?"

"It's okay…if you confess, you know. You have the right to confess. I won't stop you. Umi-chan can then decide to accept your or my confession." Honoka said as she turned around to look Kotori in her eye, "I've been thinking about this yesterday after you ran away… Since we're both Umi's childhood friend, I figured you should have a chance to confess to her."

Kotori could only look at Honoka in shook, her mouth opened slightly as she struggled to say something to the girl in front of her.

Finally, she muttered, E-Even if I want to confess…I don't have the courage to do so."

"I'm sure you can do it. You're in love with Umi-chan right? You have to let her know. Or are you fine with me stealing her away? Are you fine without even trying to fight for her?!" Honoka's voice got louder.

"I…"

"Kotori. I know it's not easy to confess. But…if you don't try, you'll never know. Stop trying to run away from everything! Brace yourself and run straight ahead!"

Kotori couldn't say anything as her eyes glazed over, tears gathering at the edge of her eyes.

"What's wrong, Kotori-chan?"

"I…Why are you telling me this, Honoka-chan. Isn't it better for you if I didn't confess. Umi-chan will accept your confession either way."

"Because you're my best friend. Sure, it'll increase my chance if you don't confess but I just can't ignore your feelings. And you won't know for sure that she'll definitely accept me."

_Honoka-chan's so strong. I wish I was half as strong and courageous as her. She has actually considered my feelings although she's also in love with Umi-chan. But she still doesn't know about our past lives. Should I tell her? She has the right to know as well since Umi-chan knows about it already._

"I…I have something I have to tell you, Honoka-chan. Umi-chan also knows about it as well and I think you have the right to know too." Kotori began.

"Huh?"

"The truth is…" Kotori bit her lip, wondering how and where she should start.

"The truth is…?"

"The truth is Umi-chan and you were lovers in the past."

* * *

And that's the end of the 7th chapter :)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Special thanks to those who've commented and favourited this fanfic :D anyway, i apologise for the looooooong wait. x.x To make up for it, i'll post two chapters up and try to update asap now that national exams are officially over (yay) Enjoy!

* * *

_8_

Honoka felt like she'd been punched in the gut.

"Huh?!" that was her immediate reaction when Kotori told her that Umi and her were 'lovers' in the past.

"Wh-What are you talking about…?"

Kotori bit her lip and bravely stared into her childhood friend's eyes, "You, Umi-chan and I were connected in the past. And we're now reincarnated to this age."

"You're telling me to believe that?" Honoka asked.

"Yes. I know it's a lot to take in but that's the truth. Please believe me."

"Kotori-chan…"

"Did you have strange dreams these days or in the past?" Kotori asked, before adding, "You're a boy in the past."

Honoka sucked in a breath. Now that Kotori mentioned it, she'd always had dreams of Umi and herself.

_If what Kotori-chan is saying is true…_

"H-How…?"

Kotori gave Honoka a tired smile as she explained quietly, "I remember everything from the past since I was young. Umi-chan only remembered some things recently. I wasn't too sure about you but I figured that you'll be remembering some stuff too."

"You're right. I do remember some stuff. But…" Honoka looked conflicted for a second before her expression turned into one of a guilty look, "I only have dreams of Umi-chan and I."

Kotori blinked and she asked cautiously, "Only between you and Umi-chan…?"

"Yes. At first I thought it's because I was in love with her and since I'm a girl it'd be almost impossible for us to be together, hence in my dreams, I became a guy. But now that you said we're reincarnated…it would make sense why I fell for Umi-chan even though I'm a girl now. Also…"

Honoka took in a deep breath before saying, a huge blush on her cheeks, "The dreams I have are all about our time together. I think. The dreams, or memories, as you'd put it, can be…um…" Honoka cleared her throat and admitted nervously, "…a little graphic."

Kotori kept her expression blank even though it felt as if her whole heart had been ripped out of her ribcage. Knowing that Honoka and Umi were lovers in the past was one thing but hearing Honoka saying that they'd done….things…that lovers usually do when they're alone made her feel depressed all over again. She should have known. She knew…She knew that it's a given that they'd done those things in the past but it still bothered her.

Shaking her head violently to clear off those thoughts, Kotori forced a smile, "R-Really?"

Knowing that she probably shouldn't have said that, Honoka looked at the greyish-haired girl sheepishly and apologised genuinely, "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologise. But there's nothing else you can remember?"

"Unfortunately no."

"I see…"

"Um…Kotori-chan. You said that you remembered everything right?" Honoka started.

"Yes."

"D-Do you remember why I…died?"

Kotori's eyes widened at Honoka's directness and said, "I'm sorry, I don't. I only remembered mine. I could guess what happened to you though…"

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?"

"Volcanic eruption," Kotori shivered as the memory of her being scorched to bones flash across her mind.

"Ah…then I'd probably have died under a collapsed building or be caught up by the eruption." Honoka said solemnly before looking worriedly at Kotori, "Are you alright? You look kinda pale."

"I-I'm fine. Just…remembered how I died…that's all."

"I see…" Honoka muttered softly.

The two lapsed into a quiet silence before Honoka suddenly ask, "I wonder why we still remember things about our past life?"

"I don't know either. You guess is as good as mine…"

"But you remembered everything right? I only remember…a small part of it. I wonder…" the ginger haired girl looked deep in thought.

"I wonder if the reason why we remember things from our past was because we still have past regrets," Honoka thought out loud.

"Regrets…?" Kotori echoed. _Regrets…or something that we can't let go off. _

"Probably."

"I see…" Kotori frowned slightly before sighing.

The room fell into an awkward silence.

Finally, Honoka broke the silence, "Shall we get back to the clubroom?"

"Y-Yeah…"

The two walked to the clubroom in silence.

When they entered the clubroom, everyone turned to look at them.

"What's wrong, guys?" Honoka asked.

"We're still having a hard time deciding the roles for the play," Eri explained, "We were thinking of casting Umi as a boy but she seemed against the idea. She said you'd be better as a boy."

"Me?"

"Yes. Umi had an idea about the play. She said she have to discuss it with you and Kotori first before deciding on anything."

Kotori turned to look at the bluenete. The blue haired girl stared determinedly at Kotori and Kotori immediately understood what the play was going to be about.

"Eri is right. Honoka, Kotori, can I talk to you guys for a while?"

"Okay," Honoka answered as the three headed to the other side of the room.

"About the play…" Umi started to say before looking at Honoka uncertainly.

"Umi-chan. I've told Honoka-chan already," Kotori interjected softly.

"Then it'll make this easier," Umi said. "I want to use our past as the basis for the plot of the play."

"Eh?!" Honoka immediately exclaimed.

Kotori kept quiet as Umi continued, "I know it won't be easy on us since we're going to relive our own past memories but I believe that it is necessary."

"But why?" Honoka asked, still not understanding where Umi was coming from.

"Honoka-chan, you pointed it out to me just now right? That perhaps the reason why we still retain our past memories was because we still have lingering regrets…or we have something we can't let go off. Umi-chan wanted to re-enact some scenes from our past to understand our 'past self' better," Kotori explained patiently.

"I see." Honoka muttered.

"Thanks, Kotori," Umi smiled at the greyish-brown haired girl, making the latter blush a little, "Y-You're welcome."

"That's why I wanted to ask permission from you two. Because these memories are not mine alone. They're both of yours. Honoka, Kotori, may I use our past lives as the basis of the upcoming play?"

"Well…if you put it that way…" Honoka said, "I guess it's fine."

"Really? Thanks! Kotori…?"

"I'm fine either way, Umi-chan."

"Thanks, Kotori!" Umi grinned.

"But where do Eri and the others come in?"

"Huh? I didn't tell you?" Kotori looked at Honoka, surprised.

"Tell me what?"

"We knew Eri and the others from our past too. Well, none of them remember their past life but the three of us knew them. But ultimately, since the play is focussing on us three, I guess they'd be playing the supporting characters…though it doesn't sound that appealing…" Kotori said sheepishly.

"I see. Well, nothing we can do about that," Honoka said, shrugging.

"I'm sorry, Kotori. I'll need your help with the script. As of now, I don't remember everything but I'll adapt it as best as I can. Also…Honoka, do you remember anything from the past?"

Honoka said nervously, her voice small, "W-Well…I do remember…some…but…" The ginger haired girl blush furiously as she recalled her 'dreams'. _Ugh. Whenever I try to think of my 'past life' I ended up seeing the dream of Umi-chan and I together. _Honoka tried to clear her head of such thoughts by shaking her head violently, earning weird looks from Umi.

Knowing that her childhood friend had a hard time trying to say anything, Kotori supplied, "Umi-chan…she only remembers the time she spent with you in her past life."

"Time she…spent with…me?" Umi repeated.

Honoka nodded slowly, shifting her eyes away from Umi.

"O-Oh," Umi suddenly realised the hidden implications of Kotori's words as she too, blushed slightly.

"T-That a-aside, I'll go tell Eri and the others about the plot of the play now," Umi said hastily as she walked away.

_Umi-chan's getting all embarrassed. How cute. _Kotori thought to herself with a chuckle but at the same time, the reminder that Honoka and Umi were together in the past cut through her bleeding heart.

"Hey, Kotori," Honoka suddenly said.

"Yes?"

"I'm gonna confess to her again."

"I-I see…"

"What are you going to do?" Honoka looked at the greyish haired girl seriously.

"I...I'm..."

* * *

A/N: End of chapter 8 :D


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: As promised, chapter 9! Enjoy! :) The story probably wouldn't span too long i think. Perhaps a few more chapters (:

* * *

_9_

"Honoka, Kotori! Eri and the others said that the plot's fine!" Umi said happily.

"Really? But she doesn't know that…" Honoka started.

"Yes, she doesn't know that it was the basis of our past life." Umi said, "She said it was fine but it might be a little hard to pull of the volcanic eruption though."

"It's no wonder…" Honoka muttered.

"I'll get started on the script then," Umi said.

"Umi-chan, I need to talk to you for a second." Honoka stared hard at Umi, daring her to say no.

"Alright…"

"Sorry, Kotori-chan, can you step out for a while?"

"Okay…" Kotori mumbled as she left the two alone. Sighing inwardly, she walked towards where the rest of μ's were as they start to work on the script.

"Umi-chan. Can you answer me now?" Honoka asked seriously.

"A-Answer you…?"

"My confession."

"I…" Umi started to falter at the sight of Honoka's hopeful yet determined blue eyes. She remembered how she was often lost in the blueness of Honoka's eyes in her past life. She shook her head inwardly to clear off such thoughts. _Now's not the time to recall about the past. Focus. Focus on the present. _

"I…" she took in a deep breath, "I'm sorry, I can't…answer…yet…" Umi finally admitted as she looked away from her childhood friend, blushing yet guilty at the same time.

"I thought so too. Damn it. Maybe I'm too rash and impatient…" the ginger haired girl muttered under her breath.

"I'm truly sorry, Honoka." Umi apologised again.

"It's fine. But I just can't seem to get you off my mind. Each time I see you, each time I think of you…I'll recall what we did in the past and I realised that I fall deeper for you each time. I can't help it."

"I…"

"I'm in love with you, Umi-chan."

Umi could only stare at her childhood friend, flustered and unable to say anything.

"I…"

It was then a loud crash echoed throughout the room. Startled, both Umi and Honoka spun around to face the source of the noise.

Kotori was on the ground, breathing and shivering heavily, her hands grasping the table for support.

It happened so suddenly. A loud piercing and raw pain had struck her head out of nowhere. Her body felt like it was burning, as if her bones were literally melting.

One moment she was trying to recall her past as she worked on the script, and in another, she was on the floor, in agony.

Kotori's breathing turned ragged and heavy as her world seemed to distort around her. It felt as if her insides were being scorched as she cried out in pain.

"Kotori!" Umi immediately was at the greyish haired girl's side as the rest of μ's looked anxious and confused.

"What's wrong, Kotori?" Umi asked, concerned.

"C-Can't breathe…fire…burning…haah…"

_What's going on? _

Umi tried to soothe Kotori as Honoka watched helplessly as her childhood friend suffered.

"Umi-chan, what's wrong with Kotori-chan?" Honoka asked worriedly.

"I-I'm not too sure myself. I think…it has something to do with her past." The bluenete was at loss. She hated to see her best friend like that. Something tugged at her heart at this sight and she felt as if she was going to cry as Kotori started to gasp for breath.

Kotori cried out as another hot searing pain seized her body. Umi, unable to stand it any longer, hugged the greyish brown haired girl from behind tightly, hoping to alleviate the pain her best friend is in.

Slowly but gradually, Kotori's gasps of pain reduced as she closed her eyes, breathing in slowly and gently.

"T-Thanks, Umi-chan," she thanked the blue haired girl.

"You're welcome," Umi smiled, relieved as she blushed slightly when Kotori turned around to hug her and burrowed her face into the bluenete's hair.

"W-What happened?" Eri asked as she looked at Kotori worriedly.

"I-I'm sorry to make you guys worry, I promise I'll explain it to you guys later," Kotori apologised guiltily.

"But…" Niko protested.

"She must have her reasons for not telling us now, so let's wait patiently," Nozomi put her hand on Niko's shoulders.

"Fine…"

"I'm really sorry!"

"Kotori…" Umi mumbled.

"Shall we call it a day then?" Eri finally decided.

"That may be for the best since after the episode just now, Kotori needs to rest. Not to forget Umi who fainted the other day." Maki agreed.

With that said, everyone started to pack their things and head out.

"Kotori, Honoka and I will work on the script meanwhile," Umi then said.

"Thanks, we're counting on you," Eri smiled.

Umi nodded as the rest of μ's left the room, leaving Honoka, Kotori and Umi alone.

"Honoka, Kotori and I will work on the script as of now. If you remember anything else, please do tell us," Umi said to the ginger haired girl.

Honoka nodded as she sighed inwardly. _I wonder when Umi-chan will answer me…_

"And…I'm sorry, Honoka. I-I'll answer…you soon," the bluenete said sincerely, knowing that she had to make up her mind soon.

"Okay," Honoka nodded.

"Kotori, do you want to come to my house to work on the script?" Umi turned to the other girl who'd been quiet since just now.

Kotori blinked in surprised before nodding, "Sure, Umi-chan."

Honoka pouted a little but said nothing as the three childhood friends left the clubroom together.

At the school gate, Umi and Kotori bid Honoka goodbye.

"See you tomorrow!" Honoka waved to the two girls as she disappeared towards the other direction.

"Shall we go?" Umi turned to Kotori.

The greyish brown haired girl nodded as both headed for Umi's house.

Inside, Kotori was happy that she got to go to Umi's house but the thought of the episode she suffered in the clubroom was weighing heavily on her mind. She was worried as she had no idea why it happened.

"Are you really fine now?" Umi asked as they entered her house.

"Yes, I'm fine now," Kotori smiled warily.

"But happened back then?" the bluenete asked softly.

"I-I was recalling the details of my…death while trying to figure out how I should go about with my script but…it happened so suddenly, Umi-chan, the pain was so unbearable that I thought I was going to die," Kotori whispered.

"Kotori…"

"I'm scared, Umi-chan, what if this happens again? I have no idea why it happened and I can't stop thinking that it will happen again. Just the thought of it terrifies me."

"Don't worry, Kotori. I'll be beside you if it happens again. We'll try to figure out why it happened to prevent it from happening again," Umi tried to reassure the other girl.

Though not convinced, Kotori nodded.

"Shall we begin?" Umi asked as Kotori plopped onto the former's chair near her study table.

"Okay!"

"I'll bring some drinks and snacks, so make yourself comfortable first," Umi said as she left the room.

A few minutes later, Kotori was twirling her pen, her chin on the desk, wrecking her head as she tried to think of how she should start the opening scene of the play.

Kotori sighed.

It was then the aroma of cookies caught her attention and she turned around, to see Umi holding a plate of cookies and two glasses of juice.

"Thanks, Umi-chan." Kotori said as Umi put the plate and juice on the desk.

"So how's it going?" Umi asked, as she peered behind Kotori.

"I can't think of how to start, any ideas?" Kotori asked as she gulped, as she tried to fight a blush off her face as she felt Umi's front against her back.

_Concentrate, Kotori. Concentrate. Don't be distracted by Umi-chan's boo–_

"Hmm…" Umi seemed to be deep in thought as she leaned further in.

Kotori's breath hitched when she felt Umi's breath against her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She bit her lip as she forced herself to stay still and concentrate on what is in front of her.

_Control, Kotori. Control. No matter how good Umi-chan's boobs feel, I have to control myself. _

Kotori's control almost shattered as the clueless bluenete pressed herself closer to Kotori.

_Oh god, Umi-chan…_

"Shall we begin with a scene in a palace?" Umi thought out loud.

"T-That's fine…" Kotori managed to croak out.

"Or maybe we should start with a scene at the field where the Honoka from the past likes to visit?"

"T-T-That's fine too…" Kotori bit her lip.

"Hm…Let me try writing it down first," Umi muttered as she snaked her hand around Kotori to the pen on the desk.

When Umi's hands accidentally touched Kotori's front, all the control that the greyish haired girl had went out the window.

Kotori immediately stood up, causing the bluenete to yelp in surprise.

"K-Kotori?"

"I'm sorry, Umi-chan. I-I can't hold myself back any longer," Kotori said, her voice pained as she roughly pushed Umi against the wall and smack her lips against Umi's.

"K-Koto–mmhm…"

At the taste of her crush's lips, Kotori's head started to reel as she her vision turned hazy.

On the other hand, Umi who was shocked and dumbfounded by Kotori's sudden kiss found herself melting against Kotori's soft but demanding kiss.

"Umi-chan…" Kotori murmured against Umi's mouth.

"K-Kotori…" Umi's whole body started to heat up and burn as she unconsciously kissed the other girl back.

Kotori moaned when she felt Umi's tongue slipping into her mouth.

After ten long minutes, they finally separated, breathing and panting, a glazed and dazed look on both of their faces as they regain their breath.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was not clear in her head yet after the hot kiss but Kotori had the courage to say the next few words which she couldn't for the past ten years.

"I'm in love with you, Umi-chan," Kotori confessed after she regained her breath.

Umi's eyes widened as she tried to process what Kotori had just said.

_Kotori's…in love with me? But…_

"I've been in love with you since we were kids," Kotori then admitted.

"I…"

"Honoka-chan confessed to you again right?" Kotori said, knowing that Umi was in a rather difficult position.

"Y-Yes…how did you–"

"Honoka-chan talked to me," Kotori explained quietly, "She forced me to admit the feelings I have for you…and it is because of her that I can confess to you. She made me realise that no matter the outcome, I would regret it if I don't ever confess to you."

Umi couldn't say anything. She was too stunned to even formulate an answer for Kotori. Now knowing that her two childhood friends are in love with her made her more confused than ever.

Kotori had kissed her just now and she responded almost instinctively. She didn't even try to resist Kotori. The blue haired girl tried to sort out her feelings for both girls but no matter how she tried, she still couldn't understand her mixed feelings.

"I don't understand…" Umi finally said, "I…I'm so confused by everything. I know I was in love with Honoka centuries ago but I…I don't understand how I feel now. I thought I was in love with Honoka as well but lately it seemed a little wrong to me. Every time I see Honoka, the past Honoka would reflect in my eyes and I find myself being struck by her. I don't know what's real and what's not anymore."

"Umi-chan–"

"And then you kissed me…twice. I admit, I don't hate it. In fact, I think I even liked it but what does that mean? Does that mean that I like you as well? But you don't make my heart race like Honoka…I…I just can't understand all these confusing feelings. Are my feelings for Honoka an illusion due to the past or are they real? Do I love you?" Umi looked on the verge of crying as she let everything out.

"Umi-chan…" Kotori muttered softly and gently as she grasped the other girl's hands, "It's okay, Umi-chan." The greyish brown haired girl's heart ached seeing Umi so lost and desperate.

Umi slumped down against the wall, covering her face with her hands.

"Umi-chan, look at me," Kotori said as she squat down, her eyes staring at Umi's.

"I can't tell you whether your feelings for Honoka-chan are real or not but I will always love you, whether or not my feelings are reciprocated." Kotori then proceeded to plant a soft kiss on Umi's lips before standing up, "Thank you, Umi-chan, for everything. I'll see you tomorrow."

The greyish haired girl smiled briefly before she left the room, leaving Umi tired and defeated against her room wall.

* * *

A/N: i think i confuse myself too much with my stories sometimes. Poor Umi-chan D: And i realised that other characters do not show up often enough...oh well...


	10. Chapter 10

10

_"I'm gonna confess to her again."_

_"I-I see…"_

_"What are you going to do?" Honoka looked at the greyish haired girl seriously. _

_"I...I'm…."_

_Kotori took in a huge breath and said, "I'm going to tell her how I feel as well."_

_"Looks like you've finally made up your mind," Honoka smiled._

_"Thanks to you, Honoka-chan," Kotori returned the smile, "If it weren't for you I'll still be tormented by my feelings for Umi-chan. You're the one who made me realise that there's nothing wrong with me liking someone and that one shouldn't think less of themselves."_

_"Hehe, now I'll have to work harder as well! I won't let my new rival beat me!" Honoka grinned impishly._

_Kotori laughed just as Umi's voice called them from the other side of the room._

* * *

Umi was having the same nightmare again. She dreamt that she was trapped under piles of debris, unable to get away as her life was being sapped away slowly and torturously. Everything was dark and no matter how she wished and tried to scream for help, not a single sound escaped from her mouth. The air around her was choking and unbearable, making her unable to breathe.

There was nothing she could do at all but to helplessly wait for death.

When Umi woke up, she was covered in sweat, her heart racing wildly, her ears ringing from the nightmare.

Taking deep slow breaths, she tried to calm herself down as she placed her palm against her forehead.

An unpleasant feeling settled in the bluenete's stomach as she recalled her dream. Shaking her head violently, she tried to clear the scene off her head. She'd succeeded in doing so, only for her thoughts to drift back to what happened in the afternoon.

Kotori had confessed to her.

And she was still confused over her own feelings for Kotori and Honoka.

Umi resisted the urge to sigh – she seemed to be doing that a lot daily.

Her thoughts then went to the hot kiss that Kotori had forced upon her. Her face started to burn as she flushed brightly at the memory.

Kotori's lips were so soft and warm that she couldn't help but want to taste and feel it again.

She wondered what Honoka's lips would feel like.

Shaking that thought away from her mind, the blue haired girl closed her eyes in an attempt to block out any unnecessary thoughts.

When Kotori had left her after she broke down, Umi felt like the whole world was crashing onto her, as if everything was drained out of her. She knew that it wasn't Kotori's fault that she'd broken down in front of her. She knew that Kotori was also in pain due to the seemingly "unrequited love" she had for her. She also knew that there was nothing Kotori could do to alleviate her confusion.

But what could the blue haired girl do now? She didn't even know her own feelings anymore. She couldn't differentiate what's real and what's from the past.

Umi then knew that she needed advice from someone she could trust. But who?

Deep down, she already knew the answer to that. There was only one person in μ's that she knew would definitely give her sound advice or at least understood her predicament.

Probably.

* * *

In school

"Um…Nozomi, can I talk to you for a while?" Umi finally worked up the courage to ask the purple haired senior while the rest of μ's, save Honoka and Kotori, have not reached the clubroom yet. According to the purple haired senior, the three first years got held back by their homeroom teachers while the other two third years had classroom duties.

"Sure, Umi-chan. What's wrong?" the purple head asked, though she knew what Umi's going to talk about.

"How…do you differentiate between what's real and what's not? In other words, how do you know if something is real or if something is just an illusion?"

"Hmm…if you ask me, I'd say that something is real when you can feel it now. It doesn't have to be a physical thing per say. Is something wrong?"

"I…" Umi's voice stuck in her throat but took in a deep breath before continuing, "I'm a little…troubled."

"Honoka-chan and Kotori-chan huh?" Nozomi glanced at the said girls before turning to look at Umi again.

Umi nodded slightly.

Nozomi thought for a moment before she instructed the younger girl, "Close your eyes for 10 seconds."

Confused, the blue haired girl asked, "Whatever for…?"

"Just to confirm something," the purple haired senior grinned, "Then, void your mind of any thoughts. When I count to ten, tell me who appears in your mind the most."

"O-Okay…"

As instructed, Umi closed her eyes.

When Nozomi started the countdown, the bluenete's mind was filled with images. Past images of her time together with Honoka, and present images of her time with Kotori resurfaced into her mind almost all at once.

She saw her past self holding hands together with the past Honoka. She also saw her young self when she first met Kotori in elementary school, grinning beside Honoka, her hands outstretched invitingly.

Her time with Kotori and Honoka all came to her at once but only the image of the current Kotori stayed throughout the whole ten seconds.

"..3…2…1…" Nozomi stopped counting and Umi opened her eyes.

"So who do you see more in these 10 seconds?" Nozomi inquired.

"K…Kotori…"

"Isn't that your answer then?"

"B-But…" Umi though understood the logic of the little experiment now, still couldn't comprehend the fact that the one that she'd fallen in love with this time could be Kotori.

_Does that mean the feelings I have for Honoka were but feelings from my past self who still yearns for Honoka?_

Seeing the still confused look on Umi's face, Nozomi bit back a sigh. It wasn't her style to help someone directly – she usually stayed in the shadows to support them – but she realised that she had to do something to help the poor junior in front of her.

"Looks like I have to do something really drastic," Nozomi muttered inaudibly under her breath.

"Nozomi…?"

"Good luck, Umi-chan," the Vice-President of the Student Council said mysteriously before heading towards Kotori and Honoka who were talking to each other.

Umi wondered what the older girl was up to as she watched the shock reactions on both her childhood friends' faces. _She…couldn't have told them about the experiment…right…?_

Before she could step forward to question Nozomi's intentions, she froze mid step at the sight in front of her.

Honoka had one hand planted firmly against the wall, right above Kotori's head, the other hand, tilting the greyish haired girl's chin up.

_What is she–_

It was then the unthinkable happened.

Honoka kissed Kotori on the lips. And Kotori was receiving it.

She felt as if she was being shot by a gun.

Anger, jealousy, hurt, shock, confusion and other emotions came to her all at once, smothering her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

_Why is Kotori kissing Honoka? I thought the ones she had feelings for was me? Damn it. _

A raw anger – one she'd felt before when Kotori was being hit on by some men at the park – coursed through her whole body and she clenched her fists tightly.

She took in a shuddering breath to calm herself down but seeing how Honoka was kissing Kotori made her blood boil.

_Kotori…Why..Why are you…_

WhenKotori whimpered slightly as Honoka kissed her again, the bluenete's body moved. Before she could even process what she was doing, she violently pushed Honoka aside and glared coldly at her, "What are you trying to do, Honoka?"

Honoka visibly gulped in fear, cringing a little at Umi's glare.

"U-Umi-chan…" Kotori whispered softly. She'd seen this side of Umi before. When she was being cornered by the men in the park, Umi had saved her but the icy look on her face then sent a chill down her spin.

"What on earth are you doing to Kotori?" Umi's glare hardened.

Honoka then knew that she was in trouble. Deep trouble. Needless to say, she was deathly afraid of Umi when she's really really upset. Shifting her eyes over to the purple head who was standing near them in shock, the ginger haired girl implored the Student Council Vice-president with her eyes to save her.

"Umi-chan," Nozomi said softly, putting her hand on the bluenete's shoulders.

"What is it?" Umi snapped.

Nozomi almost flinched but forced Umi to turn around to look at her, "Look at me, Umi-chan. Calm down. It wasn't Honoka-chan's fault. It was mine. I told her to kiss Kotori."

"W-What…?"

Nozomi sighed, "I was trying to push you into realising your own feelings…and asked them for help. I just asked them to kiss on the lips, as normally as possible. Of course, both of them were against it at first, especially Kotori-chan but after I explained that this way, you'd be much clearer about your feelings and you'd be able to choose between the two of them. Well, now I understand why Kotori-chan refused just now…If it were me…I wouldn't want to get on your bad side as well…"

The hardened glare in Umi's eyes vanished, replaced by shock and surprise.

"I-I'm sorry…Umi-chan…" Honoka said sheepishly.

"Honoka…I…I should apologise as well. I'm sorry," the bluenete said apologetically, "Sorry…Kotori, for scaring you and…for snapping at you, Nozomi."

"It's fine," the purple haired senior smiled.

Kotori apologised in return, smiling slightly at Umi.

"So…" Nozomi trailed off slowly.

"Which one of us two…" Honoka started.

"Are you in love with?" Kotori finished the question.

"I…" Umi blushed as she looked at her two childhood friends.

By then, she already knew the answer.

"At first I thought I was in love with Honoka. I was often flustered around her…and the stunt she pulled in the library…well, let's just say that I couldn't forget it even if I wanted. I didn't know about my past life with Honoka then. But when I found out and my dreams started to become more vivid, I find myself drawn to her. Then…Kotori came in…and kissed me. That's when I started to get confused. I started to wonder if my love for Honoka was due to past life we shared. Sometimes…when I look at Honoka, I can almost see the 'past Honoka' morphing with the current Honoka…" Umi began softly, looking down.

She then looked up, smiling slightly, "I was very confused. That's why I didn't accept your feelings, Honoka." She turned to look into Honoka's eyes, "I'm sorry, Honoka. For making you wait so long for an answer."

"It's okay, Umi-chan…" Honoka smiled back, but a little sadly. Looking at Umi's smiling face, she knew that what her childhood friend's answer would be.

"Kotori…made me feel lots of things. My heart doesn't race when I'm with her…it's more like I'm very comfortable with her. But lately, I get flustered around her as well. I didn't know what was wrong until now. I was slowly falling for her. The jealously I felt and the same anger when the men in the park cornered her… I then realised how much Kotori meant to me. Looking at it objectively, both of you were k-kissing. But to me, it looked as if Honoka was trying to force Kotori and I didn't like that. I felt crushed when Kotori was kissing Honoka back…I thought my heart was going to stop." Umi breathed out as she now turned to Kotori.

"I love you, Kotori," Umi confessed, her face now bright red.

Kotori could only stare at her crush, shocked. Joy then overwhelmed her, as tears burned in her eyes, "U-Umi…chan…"

"I'm so sorry, Honoka. I…"

"Don't worry about it, Umi-chan," Honoka said gently, "Perhaps, somewhere in my mind, I'd already know you'll reject me. I mean, now that you mention it, I'm starting to wonder if the love I felt for you was due to what we shared in the past and not now."

Umi was about to say something but another voice interrupted her, "Um…am I supposed to be hearing…all these?"

_Crap. Nozomi. _All three of them thought at the same time.

"Just…pretend you didn't hear any of that…" Umi said pleadingly to the purple haired girl.

All three of them had forgotten that Nozomi was still there.

Umi was too caught up with her own feelings – and wanting to express them correctly – too realised that Nozomi wasn't supposed to hear all of that.

"I would if it was a normal confession but something Umi-chan said caught my interest," the purple haired senior said thoughtfully.

The three childhood friends looked at each other, with Umi shooting apologetic looks at the two.

"So…anyone here care to explain what Umi-chan meant by 'past life'?" Nozomi stared pointedly at the uneasy trio.

* * *

A/N: Now on to the next two problem on hand...telling the rest of μ's about the secret the three were hiding...as well as the question of why they retain their memories.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: was at AFA'13 in Singapore yesterday and today and imagine my surprise when i see a love live booth near the entrance! -woohoo- (i never knew they were so popular in Singapore)

a stage event in the afternoon allowed me to see three of the seiyuus - Honoka, Umi and Niko's VA - Nitta Emi, Mimori Suzuko and Tokui Sora respectively wearing Otonokizaka's uniform. -does a victory dance-

uhhm. anyway, back to the story. enjoy~

* * *

11

The occupants in the room fell silent as three of them stared at Nozomi uneasily.

No one said anything as the three stared at each other, waging an internal battle with one another.

_Do you think it's safe to tell her? _Honoka raised an eyebrow glancing at Umi and then at Nozomi.

_We don't have any choice now, do we? _Umi thought bitterly, sighing to herself.

Kotori looked like she wanted to say something as she opened her mouth but shut it again, opting for silence.

_What do you think, Kotori? _Umi glanced over at the greyish-brown haired girl, conveying the question with her eyes.

Kotori shrugged and turned to look at the ginger haired girl beside her, wanting her to make the decision.

The leader of μ's got the message, knowing that her two childhood friends wanted her to make the decision.

Taking a deep breath, she started, "N-Nozomi-chan…before we tell you, could you…please keep this to yourself first?"

"Sure, but no promises. If it's something serious enough, I'll have to tell the rest."

_That's the best we can get her to agree on huh? _Honoka thought to herself before saying, "The truth is…Umi-chan, Kotori-chan and I have reincarnated from the past."

Honoka waited for her senior's laugh, or shock intake of breath – whatever is it but only silence ensues.

She looked worriedly at her pig tailed senior but Nozomi's expression was unreadable.

"Kotori-chan retained past memories of herself since she was young…Umi-chan and I only discovered this recently as memories of our past lives start to come back to us via our dreams," Honoka continued, choosing to leave out the part where the rest of μ's were from their past as well.

"Nozomi…I hope you'll believe us on this one. I was with Honoka in my past life and hence, the confusion between my current love for Kotori and past love for Honoka," Umi said softly, her eyes begging the Student Council Vice-President to understand them.

Nozomi finally said, "Now I understand what my cards were trying to tell me."

"Huh?" Kotori blinked.

"I was getting worried for you three, hence I drew cards to find out more. But the message was so cryptic that I couldn't understand it. Until now anyway. Never mind that. I'll believe you three for now. And I'll keep this a secret for now. But…if the situation calls for it, I'll definitely tell the rest, especially Eri-chi."

All three of them breathed out a sigh of relief. Umi smiled at Nozomi, "Thank you, Nozomi."

"No problem at all," the purple head winked.

* * *

After Practice

"See you guys tomorrow!"

"Bye!"

One by one, the members of μ's left the clubroom, once again, leaving the trio inside the room.

Nozomi gave the trio a knowing smile before leaving with Eri to the Student Council Room.

"H-Honoka-chan…" Kotori began.

"Yes?" the ginger haired girl asked.

"Um…A-Are you fine…with this…?" Kotori asked timidly.

"You mean you and Umi-chan being together?"

Kotori nodded meekly.

"I…To be honest, I'm a little disappointed. I mean, I really want to be with Umi-chan but after hearing her explanation…I began to start thinking. Wondering if my feelings were real or not. Or was it edged on by my past love for her. I…I'm trying to sort everything out now. Although I'm a little upset by this outcome, I genuinely wish you and Umi-chan the best. 'Coz you two are my best friends after all." Honoka smiled at Kotori and Umi.

"I…Thank you, Honoka-chan…" Kotori smiled back.

"Well, I'll be going then! See you two tomorrow!" Honoka waved as she left the clubroom.

The room fell silent as the remaining two stared at each other.

As the seconds ticked by, the neutral expression on both of their faces soon turned to giggles and finally laughter.

"I love you, Umi-chan," Kotori confessed again.

The bluenete blushed brightly before stammering, "I-I…love you…too…Kotori."

"Aw, you're so cute when you're blushing," Kotori grinned as she proceeded to hug the other girl.

"K-Kotori!" If possible, the blue haired girl's face reddened considerably.

"I've been waiting for so long to this…" Kotori murmured as she nuzzled her head against Umi's neck.

Umi responded by embracing her back, her hands wrapping around Kotori's back tightly.

"Always stay by my side, okay?" Kotori muttered against Umi's shoulder.

"I will," the bluenete replied softly as she kissed the other girl's forehead.

"Thank you, girlfriend," Kotori removed herself from Umi's embrace to grin at the later.

Umi blushed again at the term Kotori used to call her and looked away, embarrassed.

_Aw, she's so adorable. _Kotori thought inwardly as she resisted the urge to pounce onto her now girlfriend and kiss the life out of her.

"Y-You're most welcome…g-girlfriend…" Umi managed to say at the cost of her whole face turning tomato red.

Kotori froze, her heart starting to race as she let Umi's words sink in slowly.

_She's too adorable. Too adorable for my own good. Why is she so adorable? _Kotori bit her lips, trying to control herself.

"What's wrong, Kotori?" Umi asked.

"N-Nothing…" Kotori muttered, as her face reddened.

Umi flushed at the sight of Kotori blushing as she too, thought to herself, _She's so cute. Too cute. _

However, unlike Kotori, the bluenete didn't think to restrain herself. Or rather, she didn't know how she could feel so strongly for the former that when Kotori titled her head up cutely, Umi's heart started to thump rapidly and she couldn't resist as her head inched closer towards Kotori.

Kotori on the other hand, was mesmerised by the mocha brown eyes in front of her as she started to move her face closer towards Umi.

Slowly, the two lips met and morphed into an enchanting kiss.

Kotori shivered slightly at the feel of her girlfriend's lips and all the control that she had kept restrained flew out the window as she made the move to deepen the kiss.

"Mmm…Kotori…" Umi murmured feverishly against the hot kiss as Kotori inserted her tongue, resulting in a heated battle of dominance.

The bluenete's grip on the greyish brown haired girl's back tightened as Kotori moaned softly at the overwhelming sensations felt from the passionate kiss they share.

Minutes later, they finally pulled away from each other, gasping for breath, their faces flushed.

Kotori smiled broadly at her girlfriend and Umi grinned back.

They then clasped their hands together, leaning their foreheads against each others' as they enjoyed the moment while it lasted.

Nothing else but each other was on their minds as they stood there lovingly for several minutes before Umi spoke, "Shall we go home now?"

Kotori nodded and the duo left the clubroom, holding hands.

* * *

Next Club Activities Day

"Hey, Umi. How are the scripts going?" Eri asked.

"We're halfway through it…" Umi answered, looking at Kotori to which the greyish brown haired girl nodded, continuing, "I'm helping Umi-chan with it and I'll be working on the costumes as well."

"But…is it a bit too much for you to handle too many things?" Eri looked concerned for Kotori, the scene of her dropping onto the floor in pain still vivid in her mind.

"I'm fine," Kotori smiled, "Besides, I always do the designs for our performances, so this shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"I know but…Umi too. She collapsed the other day as well..." Eri was still not convinced.

"I'm fine as well," Umi said gently, "We'll ask Honoka to help us too."

Eri looked doubtful but eventually she sighed, "Just don't push yourselves too hard, okay? Your health is more important."

"Okay!" both girls said together, trying to assure the blonde. Eri nodded before heading over to Nozomi.

"We worked on the scripts yesterday in your house but there are still some missing blanks…" Kotori said to Umi.

"Yes, I'll ask Honoka for the…details...of…" Umi blushed slightly before continuing, "our time together in the past."

"Okay! I've written down the scenes where you and I died…all that's left is Honoka-chan's death scene…" Kotori grimaced at the thought, "I hope hers isn't as horrible as ours…"

"I hope so too," Umi said quietly.

The door suddenly opened, revealing a rather dishevelled Honoka.

"H-Honoka?!" Umi immediately shot up from her seat in worry.

"Honoka-chan! What happened?!" Kotori too, was up from her seat, trying to rush towards Honoka.

"I…remembered…" Honoka whispered fearfully.

_Remembered? Does she mean…?_ Umi rushed towards Honoka worriedly.

"What do you remember, Honoka-chan?" Nozomi asked curiously, though a little taken aback at the state the girl was in.

"…how…I died…" Honoka murmured before her legs gave way.

Kotori caught her in time as the ginger haired girl's breathing turned a little shallow.

"Honoka-chan?! Honoka-chan!" Kotori trembled as her childhood friend opened her eyes slowly and said warily, "Now I know how you two felt you recall…how you died…"

"Hang in there, Honoka!" Umi was now beside Honoka, trying to help Kotori in helping Honoka up.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Maki asked worriedly.

"Honoka-chan…looks pale…" Rin muttered.

"Is she alright? What happened?" Eri shot Kotori and Umi a concerned glance.

"W-We'll explain later so…" Umi trailed off.

"Explain later?! That's what you guys said when Kotori dropped onto the floor suddenly the other day!" Niko said angrily.

"We…" Umi faltered at the enraged look on the twin tailed senior's face.

"Niko-chi, leave it." Nozomi voice hardened.

"But– !"

"I know how you feel but Honoka's is more important now," Maki interrupted her senior as she gritted her teeth, "Though I would like to know what's going on as well…"

"Honoka-chan…" Hanayo muttered uneasily, watching Honoka as Umi and Kotori worked together to get Honoka on a chair.

"How are you feeling?" Umi asked gently.

"…like I'm going to die…it hurts, Umi-chan…it hurts a lot." Honoka shivered.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kotori asked softly.

Honoka nodded her head, "It's probably best if I do…but…it's so confusing. I-I can't understand what on earth happened…and–"

"Calm down first, Honoka-chan," Kotori grasped Honoka's cold hands, "Take a deep breath and tell us slowly."

Following Kotori's advice, Honoka took in a huge breath and as let it out slowly.

Glancing at Umi and then at Kotori, Honoka said, a haunted look evident on her face as her voice shook, "I was murdered."

* * *

A/N: Once again, thanks to those who reviewed and decided to favourite/follow this fic! :)


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